Jeremiah 18:1-6 
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 

Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” (NIV)

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God can shape us any way He so chooses. He shapes us and reshapes us for the roles He chooses for us. 

God’s shaping work is not a one-and-done operation. He reshapes us and refines us for what’s next. 

When I finished first grade, I wondered why I needed to keep going to school. After all, I could read, write, and do math. What more were they going to teach me? 

As it turns out, there was quite a bit more I needed to learn. The most important thing I learned was how to think and reflect on what was set before me and what was going on around me. Each new level added to my perspective. 

Advanced education challenged me in new ways. Most of those challenges were helpful. They stretched me. Some of them felt like a waste of time, even to this day. It was in some of those waste-of-time kinds of courses that I realized I was learning things about myself that I would not have learned any other way. Some of the worst professors turned out to be the best instructors as I reflected on what I did or did not learn from them. 

God can do more with a boring and professor and difficult reading than I can by choosing only those things that delight me. 

It took me longer than it should have to figure out that the best thing for me was to yield to the potter’s hand. Looking back on the progression from one job to another, and then the shifts within each job, I now clearly see what God was doing as he reshaped my life to fit me for what lay ahead. 

Ollie the Border Collie and I took a walk after dinner last night. Neither one of us is as quick or as nimble as we once were. Our slower pace, however, made it easier for us to hear more birdsong, including some I’m not sure we recognized before. The Merlin Bird ID app recognized two new birds I didn’t know existed. Ollie and I enjoyed the new discoveries.

Our pastor was quite sick last week, and he asked me to stand in for him on Sunday morning. I was happy to do so. The first service went really well. Remembered why I enjoyed preaching every Sunday for so many years. The second service was not quite as good from my perspective. 

I developed a crushing headache a few minutes before I stepped onto the platform. It reminded me how difficult it can be to stand and deliver every Sunday, two, three, or four times. This led to an hour-and-a-half nap. When I awoke and wandered past the desk where my wife was handling our financial details, I felt like I needed to lie down on the sofa and take another nap. 

I’m really happy that Our Father in Heaven has shaped me into a different kind of vessel. I love preaching and teaching. I simply don’t have the stamina for doing it multiple times on a Sunday and every Sunday for years on end. Playing the role of coach, encourager, and supporter is more my speed these days. I enjoy praying for those who stand to preach, teach, and lead Sunday by Sunday and day by day. I’m grateful to God for shaping me for this current role. 

He’s also shaping me for what comes next, and I’m pretty excited about that, too. I spoke with my 83-year-old mentor last week, and we discussed how this is a season of narrowing down the number of things I do and going deeper into the things that are most significant. 

Having been the guy who wanted to know everything worth knowing, I find it a significant shift to focus on fewer things in greater depth. God is still shaping this old lump of clay. He is giving me new focus indifferent goalposts. I’m playing for different kinds of wins now. The rules and moves have changed. It may look like I’m playing checkers to an observer, but God is teaching me to play chess in my heart and mind. 

What’s your story? 

What have been the transitions in your life so far? What is God preparing you for now, in advance of what He will use you to accomplish next? Take good notes as you recognize the turning points and life gates ahead. Sometimes the changes are incremental. Other times, they are seismic. 

Entrust your heart and mind to the One who lays the path out before you. Know that He will never leave you or forsake you. Trust that He will provide for you everything you need, and enjoy the journey. 

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I will yield myself to the Potter’s hand. 
([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TleYjvNqKGo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TleYjvNqKGo))

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Our Father, today I say what so many before me have said: “I wouldn’t take nothing from a journey.” Thank you for the quick steps. Thank you for the slow steps. Thank you for the challenging climbs and the easy walks. Thank you for the wind in my sails and the strength for the striving. Empower me to finish well where I am as you prepare me well for what’s next. Amen.