"Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.' Jeremiah 18:6

It was a familiar sight -- a scene common to the bustling city of Jerusalem. Jeremiah had seen it hundreds of times -- a craftsman fashioning a clay pot with a practiced, gentle touch. But on this day God impressed on Jeremiah an important lesson. God was like the potter, and His people were like the clay. "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?"

There is no greater illustration in all of the Bible of God's care and patience. When the ancient potter discovered a flaw in the vessel he made, he did not throw it away. He went to work on it and reshaped it.

When we fail to carry out God's purposes, when we sin against His Law, when we put self first, God does not give up on us. We can still feel the hand of the divine craftsman working in the secret places of our lives. He still pursues us with His grace and love. We are in God's hand. What a picture of God's eternal patience in action -- working our salvation in Jesus Christ! For the sake of Jesus He erases our sinfulness. The Holy Spirit through the Gospel in Word and sacraments gives us new life.

PRAYER: Lord, how often we spurn Your love! Yet You continually offer us love and forgiveness. For this we praise and thank You; in Jesus' name. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 23-24    Hebrews 4

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"