Lessons from Jeremiah 18: God Is Working

Because we can’t see God with our physical eyes, we sometimes imagine a picture of Him that isn’t accurate. It’s why we need God’s Word to show us who He really is. We might picture God somewhat like the Lincoln Memorial – a stone-like figure enthroned, over all, but unfeeling and just watching. But Jeremiah 18:3 says,

“So I went down to the potter’s house,

and there he was working at his wheel.”

The potter was just a man, yet God was giving Jeremiah a visual and the potter represents God. When Jeremiah saw him, he was working. It’s a precious reminder to me that God is always at work. When my heart is leaning more toward the Lincoln Memorial picture, I try to remember that if I could actually see all that God is doing, I would feel awful for even thinking that!

John 15:1 says,

“I am the true vine,

and my Father is the vinedresser.”

As we abide in Christ, our Father is at work. Isaiah 5 gives the picture of Him digging, clearing, planting, building, and hewing. God is working in our lives, our families, our communities, in the nations, and in all of the universe. He created it all. He tends it all. He is watching over His plan to perform the restoration and renewal of His perfect order. Lord, help us to see Your hand and give You all the glory! Cause us to cease striving and know that it’s by relying on You that the work is done as we hear and obey, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

nor are there any works like yours.”

Psalm 86:8