When Life Isn’t Turning Out Like You Thought It Would
LYSA TERKEURST
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“Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’” Jeremiah 18:5-6 (ESV)
I want to be someone who trusts God no matter what.
But when life isn’t turning out like I thought it would, I can quickly shift from that place of wholehearted trust to one of desperately trying to be in control. How do we trust a God who allows heartbreak and pain to be a part of our story?
Let’s dig into a little further context around our key Bible verses for today.
In Jeremiah 18, the prophet Jeremiah issued a warning to the house of Israel. Instead of turning to God, they continued to rebel against Him — fixing both their attentions and their affections on their false gods and high places.
In response, God sent Jeremiah to the local potter’s house, where Jeremiah received a message of correction from the Creator to His creation.
“Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel’” (Jeremiah 18:5-6).
Because of how familiar pottery making was in the Ancient Near East, this imagery made God’s message an easy one for His people to understand, although we soon see it was not one they obeyed (Jeremiah 18:12). But I’m praying we will let this picture of God as the Divine Potter speak to our hearts today.
Specifically, I believe this image can strengthen our ability to trust Him when we allow it to remind us of three truths:
- We can trust the hands of the One who made us, the One who loves to use dust.
The Hebrew word for “potter” in Jeremiah 18:5-6 is yoser and means “to form or shape.” Jeremiah was making a connection between the way a potter throws and forms his clay and the way God shapes “human clay” — starting with how He formed Adam from dust into a man bearing His image (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 1:27). I am amazed that out of all the things God could have used to make humans, He chose to use dust. When mixed with water, dust becomes clay. Clay, when placed in the potter's hands, can be formed into anything the potter dreams up.
- We can trust the hands of the One who has good in store for us.
For those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, our time on this side of eternity is only the beginning of a transformation we all long to experience. The Bible reminds us that in eternity with Jesus, there will be no more death. No more crying. No more broken hearts or broken circumstances. No more shattered realities. Friend, the more we choose to hold on to this eternal perspective, the easier it becomes to live fully surrendered to God, no matter what we face.
- We can trust the hands of the One who loves us and knows what is best for us.
Just like the children of Israel, we need to be shaped and formed as God sees best. We need to stay moldable as He works in our lives. And our willingness to yield to God starts with remembering we can trust Him because He loves us.
I don’t know what hard realities you’re facing right now. But I do know this: We can trust our God.
Our greatest disappointments and disillusionments, those things that shake us and break us and make us wonder about everything, don’t have to mean all hope is lost. We can place our lives fully in the hands of the Potter. We can trust He is making something glorious out of us.
Father, I confess there are days I allow heartbreak and pain to cause me to doubt You. Please forgive me for all of the times I have tried to take control of my own life. I know You love me. I know You are for me. And I surrender every worry into Your loving and mighty hands. I trust You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
You can stop carrying the weight of holding everything and everybody together — surrender what you’re most worried about into God’s fully capable hands with the help of Lysa TerKeurst’s FREE resource, “Am I Trying To Control the Uncontrollable?” This gentle, guided resource is filled with prompts, reflection questions, prayers and more! Download now.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (ESV).
In what area of your life are you most tempted to reach for control, or where do you struggle to trust God? Which one of the three truths in today’s devotion did you most need to hear today?
We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments.
© 2024 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Thursday, 05 September 2024.
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