Break the Jar
The Potter’s hands at work, shaping with care
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More – Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
God’s instruction to Jeremiah to smash the potter’s jar was a vivid picture of His unchanging purposes. Ray Stedman points out that the world sees such acts of judgment as harsh, ruthless, and even vindictive. But for the people of God, there is more to the story. Jeremiah had already visited the potter’s house and learned that the potter’s hands work with love, not malice. When the vessel was flawed, the potter did not discard it in disgust but broke it down and reshaped it until it matched his intention.
In the same way, the pressures and breaking points we encounter are not random acts of cruelty from God. They are the movements of the Master Potter who has nail-scarred hands, shaping us through His own suffering and love. The same blood that purchased us is the blood that assures His work in us is for our good and His glory.
Even when circumstances seem destructive, God’s hands are never careless. What the world calls ruin, He calls remaking. Stedman reminds us that Judas’ betrayal money bought a potter’s field, a place that forever linked the Potter’s work to His own sacrifice. Through that lens, our breaking moments are never without purpose.
The lesson from the potter’s house still stands: when we are in His hands, we can rest. The breaking and reshaping are not signs of rejection but of devotion. The Potter will continue to work until the vessel is useful for the Master’s purpose, and nothing in His process is wasted.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, I am the One who formed you in the secret place, and I have never loosened My hold upon you. When you feel the weight of My shaping, remember that My hands bear the marks of My love. I have endured suffering for you, and I shape you with the same love that brought Me to the cross. When I press and mold, it is not to destroy you but to refine you, so that My life may be seen in you more clearly.
Do not resist the seasons of breaking, for I am not discarding you. I am removing what does not reflect My design. I know the pressure you experience, for I have walked the path of pain and rejection. In every moment of your remaking, I am near, and I will not release you until you are a vessel that carries My grace into the places I send you.
Trust that the work I begin, I will complete. Nothing can separate you from My love, not even the fires of affliction or the weight of trials. Yield to Me, for I am faithful to finish what I have started in you.
Scripture References: Psalm 139:13, Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:3-4, Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 26:28, Romans 8:28-29, Romans 8:35-39, 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, Philippians 1:6, 2 Timothy 2:21
Real-Life Analogy
It is like a chef preparing dough for bread. After mixing, kneading, and allowing it to rise, the chef will sometimes punch it down to release air and strengthen its texture before shaping it again. To an observer, the sudden collapse might look like ruin, but to the baker, it is a necessary step toward making something flavorful and nourishing.
In the same way, when life seems to collapse unexpectedly, we can trust that the Lord is not wasting the moment. In your own life today, if something is being reshaped or seems to have been “punched down,” respond with quiet surrender. You might whisper, “Lord, I rest in Your shaping, knowing You are preparing me to bear fruit in the way You desire,” and watch for the opportunities He will unfold through you.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that my life rests securely in Your hands. I am grateful that even in breaking, You are working for my good and Your glory. I trust that every press, every shaping, and every pause is guided by Your wisdom and love. I rejoice that You will complete what You have begun, and I rest in the certainty that nothing in Your process is wasted.