Marred Clay
READ
When you watch a potter at work, it's mesmerizing. The clay spins on the wheel, and with steady, skillful hands, the potter shapes it. Sometimes the clay collapses or develops a crack, and you think the piece is ruined. But the potter doesn't throw it away. Instead, those same hands press the clay back down into a lump, add water, and begin again—shaping it into something beautiful.
God told Jeremiah to go watch a potter for a reason. He wanted him—and us—to understand something profound about identity formation. We are the clay. God is the potter. And the work of becoming who we're meant to be isn't a one-time event. It's an ongoing process of being shaped by His hands.
Let’s take a moment to read Jeremiah 18:1-6:
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
REFLECT
Here's what strikes me most: the potter doesn't abandon marred clay. When the pot develops a flaw, when it doesn't turn out as planned, the potter doesn't discard it in frustration. He reforms it. He begins again. He shapes it "as seemed best to him."
How many of us feel like marred clay? Maybe you chose a word for the year with such hope, and already you've stumbled. Maybe you've tried to change before and failed. Maybe you look at your life and see all the cracks and imperfections, and you wonder if God has given up on you. You wonder if you're too broken to be shaped into something whole.
But that's not how the Potter works. His hands don't leave you just because the process is messy. He doesn't need you to be perfect clay before He can work with you. In fact, your willingness to stay on the wheel—to remain soft and responsive to His touch—matters more than your current shape.
This is the difference between behavior modification and identity formation. Behavior modification says, "Try harder. Do better. Fix yourself." But identity formation says, "Stay on the wheel. Let the Potter's hands shape you. Trust His vision for who you're becoming."
When you choose one word to focus on this year, you're not committing to never mess up. You're committing to stay on the wheel. You're saying, "God, I want You to form this quality in me. I know I'll falter. I know there will be days when the clay seems to collapse. But I'm staying in Your hands. Shape me as seems best to You."
The potter doesn't make every pot the same. Each one has a unique purpose, a particular shape, a specific beauty. God isn't trying to make you into someone else. He's forming you into the fullest, most whole version of yourself—the person He created you to be.
And here's the beautiful mystery: as God shapes your identity, He's also equipping you to steward His work in the world. You're not becoming the kind of person who embodies peace or courage or faithfulness just for your own sake. You're being formed so that you can participate in God's renewing work—so that your whole, integrated life can be an offering that reflects His glory.
Stay on the wheel. Trust the Potter's hands. The shape you're becoming is more beautiful than you can imagine.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Where in your life do you feel like "marred clay"—flawed, cracked, or not turning out as planned? How does it change your perspective to know the Potter doesn't abandon marred clay but reforms it?
What's the difference for you between trying to modify your behavior through willpower and allowing God to form your identity through His steady, patient work?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
God, I confess that I often feel like marred clay—cracked, imperfect, not measuring up. Thank You that Your hands don't leave me in that state. Keep me soft and responsive on the wheel. Shape me according to Your vision, not my own. Form me into the person You created me to be, whole and capable of reflecting Your glory. I trust Your hands. Amen.