You're the Potter, I'm the Clay

DAY FIFTEEN: Wednesday, October 29, 2008


Read Jeremiah 18:1-12


"And they said, 'That is hopeless!' So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart." Jeremiaha 18:12 (NKJV)



The German philosopher and lifelong rebel against Christianity (even though his father was a Lutheran pastor), Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man."


That is precisely what the citizens of ancient Israel were thinking when they refused God's offer to reshaped them like a potter would a marred piece of clay. They would rather "walk according to their own evil plans, and...every one obey the dictates of his evil heart," than place their hope in God.


Why on earth would any of us make the foolish choice of refusing God's generous offer of help, only to walk in our own wisdom and strength alone?


That is what hopelessness does. All strength to trust God and walk according to His good plans for our life is exchanged for hope in our selves alone.


What is the end result when we reject hope in God for our way? For Israel it was national collapse within and without. And Nietsche? He suffered from mental illness the last decade of his life, brought on from syphillis, a sexually transmitted disease.


Action step for today: Offer up any and every part of your self to God, your mind, your emotions, or your body, that has been marred by sin and selfishness, for reshaping into hope by God.