Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

We know how the story goes. God made man from dirt. He took a rib from Adam and made Eve. So technically that rib was made from dirt, so woman came from dirt too.

When God created us, He did not need a lot of stuff. After all He is God. He just took dirt (something he had already made and had laying around) and turned it into man, then from man he made woman.

In Jeremiah 18, the Bible says The Lord is the Potter and we are the clay. The Lord told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s shop to observe him. Jeremiah did. And the Bible says that the vessel the potter was making of clay was spoiled in his hand, and He remade it into another vessel.  In verse 4, it says, “he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” He wasn’t pleased so He changed the vessel for His good pleasure. …Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand… Jeremiah 18:6

This is just what God does with us. So many times in my life, I have felt like He was starting all over with me, sometimes pounding my clay with His mallet; sometimes sticking me back into the fire; working to make me into a vessel “for His good pleasure.”

Through the knocks in life, my pot has become cracked, flawed, and frail. Divorce, infertility, and an emotional breakdown were all opportunities that the Potter saw to rework me. My mom and dad’s extended illnesses followed by their deaths left part of my pot broken. Cancer, surgeries and a painful nerve illness have etched deep grooves into my side. Betrayal and rejection have been like a crushing weight to my foundation. So many times my flesh has cried out in agony as I went kicking and screaming back into the fire as the Potter has worked, not only to repair me, but to make me more durable and better than before.

I am certain that your pot of clay has been stressed and worn too. The things we go through leave us vulnerable to despair. Trials can paralyze and debilitate even the strongest of souls. Pressures from every side can be perplexing; persecution can make us feel as though we’ve been struck down. When life is filled with despair, we can not give up. We must turn to God, our loving Father, and His powerful Word to regain focus.

In 2 Corinthians 4, we read about a treasure that is kept in a jar of clay. That seems like an odd place for a treasure. Usually, we would keep our valuable treasures in a vault, in a safety deposit box, or in a strong, protected place. A jar of clay is fragile and easily broken. This jar of clay reveals flaws, chips, and cracks. It’s not a vessel of great worth or monetary value, but rather a common, ordinary vessel–much like the clay jars of bible days that were used for water or trash.

We are that earthen vessel, that fragile clay pot! Our bodies, our outward appearance, our inward weakness, our humanness, our physical disabilities, our unfulfilled dreams, these are all elements of our jar of clay. None of these things can bring meaning or measure of worth to our lives. If we focus on our human side, despair is bound to set in.

But the wonderful secret to overcoming despair is also revealed in these verses. Kept inside that broken, fragile, ordinary jar of clay is a treasure, a priceless treasure of immeasurable worth!

2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 16-18

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Through the truth of God’s Word, let’s refocus our eyes today, not on our cracked pot, but on the priceless treasure that dwells within us. This treasure can fill the emptiest of vessels; after all, a jar is designed to hold something.

I heard just the other day on the radio. “THE TOMB WAS EMPTY SO WE DON’T HAVE TO BE.” That treasure living in us is God himself, bringing us his abundant life; bringing peace in the trials; new mercies every day. For those who have accepted Christ as our personal Savior, THE SAME POWER THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE GRAVE LIVES IN US.

Dear Lord: In our own humanity, we are simply an empty jar. But when You fill us, we receive what we were created to hold, the very life of God—the richest of treasures! When we look only at our frail clay pot, we can become discouraged, but when we look at the glorious treasure we hold, we are inwardly renewed day by day. And those frailties and cracks in our clay pot are not to be despised, for they serve a purpose. They allow Your life, our cherished treasure, to seep out for all those around us to receive Your love. Help us to bend to Your will and work in our lives. Just as clay serves its best purpose in the potter’s hand, such is true of us.

 …Have thine on way, Lord. Have thine on way. Thou art the Potter. I am the clay. Mold me and make me, after they will. While I am waiting, yielded and still.  Amen

What does your cracked pot say about you? Have you endured some hard knocks to your fragile clay? Is it filled with cracks? Has your clay pot experienced some reworking by the Potter? Please share your comments, experiences and thoughts.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May the Potter mold you into His perfect will for your life. His plans for us are always so much better than ours anyway.