“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred (Broken) in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” – (Jeremiah 18:4)
One of the greatest disappointments for any potter or pottery maker after hours of labour is to have the vessel he is making cracked or broken. He has to choose to either throw the damaged vessel away or use the same clay to make another one.
He chooses to remake the vessel because he already knows within himself the vessel has potential, regardless of its earlier imperfections. I believe God feels the same way about us. He knows that we have cracks and air bubbles but still chooses to work on us.
Additionally, He puts Apostles, Prophets or Pastors in your life as Potters to help make, mold and fashion you into what He wants you to be. (Ephesians 4:11, 12)
The Apostle, Prophet or Pastor in your life should be chosen by God. In Jeremiah 3:15, the spirit of God says, “I will give you Pastors after my own heart…”
In other words you don’t always get to choose your Pastor based on compatibility but rather based on God’s good pleasure and what He seeks to form in you. This Pastor will be used by God to help shape and mold you into God’s desired vessel. Your willingness and humility will help the process, but your pride or unwillingness will prolong and delay the process.
When the vessel is finished being made, the Potter heats a fire extremely hot and shoves the vessel in it. This firery process is to ensure that the vessel is sealed and ready to be polished and painted. It is fire tested!
1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
In 1 Peter 4:12, the Word of God admonishes that you are not to think that fiery trials, which were sent to “try” or “test” you are strange.
The purpose of your test is to refine you and to create of you a vessel that is prepared for any adversity that may come your way. Just because you are being tested does not mean that God does not love you or that He does not care about you or that He has allowed these trials to come to destroy you. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As a matter of fact, God sometimes allows you to be broken. He allows you to go through the process to remake you over again. God wants to strengthen you. That’s right, your “fiery process” is necessary because when the time is right God, Himself wants to put a seal on you that you have been Pressure-Tested…and Approved!
