The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you to hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Jeremiah 18:1–4 (ESV)

The Lord gave lessons to the prophet Jeremiah while he watched the potter at work. I want to learn from God’s illustration, so I’ve turned to potters for a clearer understanding of pottery making,

Aunt Elan loves making her beautiful pottery on the potter’s wheel. I asked Aunt Elan about “throwing a pot.” She stressed the importance of having the clay sealed to the wheel. If it is not sealed, water gets underneath the pot and the piece can fly off the wheel! Imagine the damage that causes as it speeds through the air and into people and other pottery.

The Importance of Being Sealed

There’s damage ahead for us as well if we are not sealed. We don’t want to “fly off the wheel” of spending eternity in God’s presence. God’s wrath awaits those who reject Christ. People who believe in Christ Jesus for their salvation are sealed by the Holy Spirit, as described in Ephesians, chapter one.

In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13–14 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit’s seal will never let us go. Knowing that there is the certainty of God’s promises gives us hope while our Potter is molding us into the image He has planned for us—the image of Jesus Christ.

The Need to be Centered

The clay needs to be centered on the potter’s wheel so it has even distribution of pressure during shaping. The potter is then able to stretch, push, and pull on the clay to make the vessel into the desired shape.

If the clay is not centered, the pot or vase comes out lopsided.

I know when I get distracted by other things and have my priorities out of order, I am not centered in God. When I fight against the Potter’s work in my life, I resemble my attempt at a crooked pinch pot instead of a beautiful vase. Praise God, the Potter does not give up. He makes me into something better.

Have you been feeling lopsided like I have when my life is not centered on Jesus?
Is your walk with God sometimes inconsistent?

Are you yielding to the pressure and shaping God does in your life?

Are you centered in Jesus in your day-to-day walk with Him?
Is He your stability during pressure?

Let’s accept the molding the Lord does in our lives. He knows we need to stay centered in Him.

How to Stay Centered

We can stay centered, or abide, in Jesus, as He explained to His disciples. Read John 15. Here are some of His instructions:

• Stay connected to Jesus (John 15:4–6). Diligently spend time to worship, pray, and study the Bible. I find I have to schedule my time with God or I allow other things to eat up the time I need to spend with Him.
• Keep God’s Word (John 15:7). If we are to keep it, we need to know what the Bible says. Memorizing verses will help us stay in God’s Word throughout our day. I find learning verses as songs and using memory verse packs help me to remember Scripture.
• Be fruitful. In other words, be productive by living a life that reflects the character of Jesus (John 15:4–5, 8, 16).
• Obey God’s commands (John 15:10).
• Love one another (John 15:17).

Let’s stay centered. Let’s abide in Jesus Christ’s love. We start by being sealed by the Holy Spirit by believing in Christ Jesus for our salvation. The Potter is not finished with us yet, but as we yield to Him and abide in Him, He is making us into His masterpieces.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:9-11 ESV

Master Potter, Have Your way in me. Help me to yield to You and to stay in the center of Your will. Amen.

Thank you for reading my devotionals. You can go back to past devotionals if you missed any of the 2025 Clay in the Potter’s Hands series, Attributes of God: A to Z series in 2024, or others dating back to August 2020. Click on the date under the title to expand the text.

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Scriptures marked ESV are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

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