Anticipate :: Devo #15

Cracked Pots
On past trips we have talked about seeing things through the eyes of others. Getting a fresh view of mission work, seeing faith in action. The question in this week’s meditation is “Have you ever asked God to help you see the world the way he does?” OK. Seems a reasonable request. Then, the question “Have you ever asked God to shape you?”

We’ve visited the pottery factory outside of Santiago several times. This might look a lot like the place that inspired the verses in Jeremiah 18:1-6. It is a busy place, with lots of finished pottery and ceramic on the shelves. But less visible is the process going on at the work stations: an amorphous hunk of clay is worked into a recognizable shape. Sometimes the artist has to push down on the work, take away the emerging shape if he or she is not happy with it and start over. The result, a beautiful pot or colorful figurine that will serve as reminders of the visit for years to come.

God would have the events of our life and our faith and trust in him build us up in maturity and effectiveness much as the pressure of the potter’s hands as he shapes his work. Look at the verses in Jeremiah ~ the potter shapes his work “as seemed best to him.” The challenge: Do we believe that God knows best? That he can shape us through the events we only now anticipate, but will soon experience, then finally upon which we will reflect? Will we be able to describe our lives as “clay in the hand of the potter?”

Prayer
Read Jeremiah 18 and think about what it is that you want God to teach on this trip. Bring this to him in prayer and anticipate his response!