The Potter and the Clay
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Our culture is obsessed with self-improvement. Every day—especially throughout the month of January—we are inundated with advertisements promising transformation: programs and products that claim to make us fitter, wealthier, more fulfilled, and more at peace. Everywhere we turn, we are told that we are not enough as we are—and that with enough effort, discipline, or the right purchase, we could finally become the person we’re meant to be.
Our world places the burden of self-growth squarely on our shoulders. We are expected to summon the willpower to exercise consistently, nurture healthy relationships, process old wounds, manage our finances, advance our careers, and maintain vibrant spiritual lives—all while keeping up appearances. If the weight feels overwhelming, we are assured that it can be eased, provided we buy the right tool or follow the right formula.
But for Christ-followers, transformation is not a solitary project driven by relentless striving. While we are called to participate in our growth, our change does not come from self-mastery but from surrender. Healing and wholeness are not something we manufacture; they are something we receive as we place ourselves in the hands of God.
This journey is neither passive nor self-directed. It is a holy collaboration—one in which we allow ourselves to be shaped, reshaped, broken down, and built up by our loving and attentive Creator.
Let’s take a moment to read Jeremiah 18:1-10:
The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as He told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.
REFLECT
Jeremiah 18:1–10 reveals that true and lasting transformation is ultimately the work of God, not the result of our spiritual striving. God—the Master Potter—shapes us into vessels meant to reflect His mercy and love to the world.
Yet this growth still requires our participation. We are not passive objects being flung about by a distant or dictatorial God. Instead, Scripture presents a God who works with His people, responding to their openness and willingness.
The Potter shapes the clay according to its pliability. God is always faithful to form and transform us, but He does not force His will upon us. Our consent matters. Like clay, we can remain soft and responsive—or we can harden ourselves in resistance. We can allow ourselves to be reworked, or we can stubbornly refuse to change.
Hardened clay can become pliable again when it is softened by water. Even clay that seems to have lost its flexibility can often be reshaped. In the same way, when we find ourselves stuck in patterns or behaviors that harm our relationship with God or others, we are invited to be softened by the Spirit. Even when change feels impossible—when we believe we are “set in our ways”—the Master Potter is still able to fashion us into something new.
Jeremiah 18:1-10 also reveals a difficult Truth: transformation is uncomfortable. To be made new, something old must sometimes be torn down. What no longer serves God’s purposes may need to be broken apart so that we can be remade. This process can be painful—but it is not cruel. It is an act of Divine mercy.
When our journey of transformation feels grueling, we can trust that the Master Potter knows exactly what He is doing. Every ounce of pressure is intentional, applied with care and purpose, so that we might become vessels capable of holding and reflecting the life of the Holy Spirit.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Where in your life are you striving to transform yourself? What would it look like to loosen your grip and trust that sanctification flows from surrender to God rather than from greater effort?
In what areas of your life have you become hardened or unresponsive to God’s touch?
How can you allow yourself to become more pliable and malleable in God’s hands?
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 of transformation, thank You for being faithful to form me into a vessel for Your loving Spirit. Free me from the pressure to enact change all on my own. Remind me that You are the One Who imparts righteousness and creates lasting growth within me. Help me to let go of my striving and simply allow You to shape me. God, though the process of formation often requires the deconstruction of my harmful habits and beliefs, I trust that every ounce of discomfort is worth it. You only stretch me and push me when it is for my good and the benefit of Your Kingdom. I trust Your loving, formative touch. Lord, soften me and help me to stay malleable, pliable, and teachable. In Your hands, and Your hands alone, I become a masterpiece. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.