The Potter's Wheel

The Potter's Wheel has been one of the most inspiring sermon topics for me that I've heard Pastor preach.  It has truly found a place in my mind and I hope it will stay forever.  I can really see myself here.

Jeremiah 18:1-4
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.  Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Power - Is in the clay because it is yielding.  (I am a piece of clay.)
Wheel - Life (Getting better every day.)
Potter - Jesus. (Thank you Jesus.)
Potter's Room - House of God. (Church) (Such a wonderful place.)
Clay - Has the power to either yield or resist. (I resisted so long.  But now I'm learning to yield.  It is a slow process, like making the pot on the wheel.  I pray, Jesus, that you don't finish with me until you are ready to take me to Heaven.)
Potter's Field - Behind the potter's house where all the broken vessels are thrown.  (Jesus, I pray that I will never be a vessel broken beyond repair.)

According to Pastor's sermon, being on the potter's wheel is sometimes uncomfortable.  Sometimes it hurts.  Sometimes we don't like the changes.  Sometimes we keep jumping off the wheel.  But the best place to always be is on the wheel.  We don't have to ask Jesus to use us, we only need to position ourselves on the wheel.  Jesus will do the rest.

Clay can have a hard place in it.  It will work it's way to the surface and the potter has to remove the hard place and start over again.  When we are on the wheel and Jesus is molding us, anything on the inside (doubt, bitterness, hate) will come to the surface.  Sometimes Jesus must apply pressure so the bad things can come out.  But He keeps molding us.  He never throws us in the potter's field.  However, we may allow satan to throw us in the potter's field.  Pray: I want to remain on the potter's wheel to have my imperfections come out so I can become what you want me to be.  Jesus will take it from there. 

It's not who we are that's important, but who we need to be.

Doubt only occupies places that faith has abandoned.  Doubters do the same thing as unbelievers.

Stay on the wheel and faith grows to the point of not letting doubt in.  The "power to become" is in the clay.  Jesus did not get off the wheel (cross) when things got tough. 

Be:
1. Committed to the Word
2. Committed to Reaching the Lost
3. Committed to Prayer and Fasting
4. Committed to One Another

I had heard that you must give love away to have love.  I think my 'mind' understood that, but my 'heart' didn't.  It has also been said that we must forgive and forget.  I could say the words "I forgive" and feel that I truly meant it.  Forget?  Now that was another matter.  I had heard that He is always with us.  But through all the hurt and pain of the past, that couldn't possibly be true.  I had heard that to have friends, you have to be a friend.  Couldn't be.  All my friends hurt me and turned their backs on me when I needed them.  I had always heard that Jesus was a loving God.  Then why was I going through so many troubles all alone?  When I thought of my painful past, I remembered each and every horrible detail. 

The further I went, the worse the road got.  I got to the point in my life that I felt I was at the very bottom of a pit and there was no way out.  I felt so alone.  For so many years, I was not living.  I only existed, just waiting for all the hurt and pain to come to an end.

Then came the day I received the "slap-in-the-face" that I evidently needed to wake me up and get me started going to church again.  My life has turned around completely.  I see everything so differently now. 

I feel love now from the people around me, because I give love to them.  But I feel even more love from Jesus, something I felt only briefly when I was eight years old.  I now have faith in Jesus that I never had before.  I have been able to forgive some things that I never thought I would be able to forgive; and never wanted to forgive.  I now see those storms in my life were sent my way to strengthen me, strength I would need in His "plans" for me.  I am finding out that turning problems and needs over to Jesus and having faith that He will take care of the problem, I can sometimes 'let-go'.  I no longer need to carry all that heavy weight of the past around with me.    It's hard and I'm getting better, but I still have some work to do with this.

Some months ago, our Youth Pastor preached a sermon about how mighty God is; his enormous size.  The entire universe can fit in the palm of God's hand.  I'm smaller to Him than a grain of sand is to me.  Yet He loves me and knows everything about me. 

Now I see things so differently.  He paints such beautiful sunrises for me to admire on the way to work.  Crossing the long bridge to get to work, I see the beautiful water, sunrise in the water and egrets and water fowl sometimes flying along at car window level.  What a sight he paints for me. 

I'm now seeing other things I didn't see before, people saying kind words to me, returning my smile, people not being afraid to speak to me because of the frown I wore daily.  I'm seeing more love than I ever thought possible.  For about 30+ years, I don't remember laughing.  Depression steals the smiles. Now I laugh a lot.  Thank you Jesus. 

A song says, "Not for what I was, but for what I could be.  That's how Jesus saw me."  These words mean so much to me.  All those years I felt too unworthy to disturb Him with my prayers.  He was seeing me for 'what I could be'.  Thank you Jesus for not giving up on me.  I have listened to this one song all the way to and from work (1 hour each way), for weeks at a time.  On the trip, I will pray, sing, and cry.  Fellow employees now know not to worry when I arrive at work, hoarse, with red and puffy eyes.

When I felt I was at the bottom of the pit and all alone, He was there with out-stretched hands.  I only had to look up and reach for him.  I had to repent, not confess.  I had to trust Him, have faith in Him, believe His Word and let him guide me.

Someone said that "to understand life is to look at it in reverse".  So true.  I have now been able to see times in my past when He was calling me.  But I closed the door to my heart.  I now see where He got me through some tough places.  But I took all the credit.  I didn't know Him at all.  Now, I'm am getting to know Him more and more.  What a wonderful feeling.  He forgave me of all my sins.  I'm learning to let go of them.  I am trying to fill my mind and heart so full of thoughts and love for Jesus that satan can find no room.

I was a badly marred and broken vessel, but Jesus put me back on the potter's wheel.  He is still molding and shaping me.  Since I've always heard that we can't be perfect while still living on earth, I pray that He keeps me on the potter's wheel.  Mold me and shape me, I pray, into a vessel You can use to bring glory to You.

Jesus, for so long...
...I over-looked and did not see a tiny speck of sand among all the other sand.
...I over-looked and did not see a single leaf among all the leaves on the tree.
...I over-looked and did not see a single drop of rain among all the rain of a storm.
...I over-looked and did not see the one tiny flower among all the grass and weeds.
...I over-looked and did not see a single face among a large crowd of people.
...I gave nothing to anyone.  I got nothing in return.

Truly amazing are the sermons when I first returned to church and the sermons I'm hearing now.  At first, the sermons were rather dull and boring.  Almost none pertained to me and my problems, and I had come there for answers.  But now, because of my spiritual growth, every sermon has something in it that pertains to me; something to help me grow.  For that, I thank Pastor, Youth Pastor, our other Minister, Choir Leader and Choir, Leaders, Bible Study Teachers, Orientation Teacher, Church Members, Friends and Visitors.  I thank all of you for all you have done for me.

But most of all, thank You Jesus for Your Love and Forgiveness !  I love you.

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