Read Jeremiah 18:1-23
As the potter molded or shaped a clay pot on the potter’s wheel, defects often appeared. The potter had the power over the clay, to permit the defects to remain or to reshape the pot. Likewise, God had power to reshape the nation to conform to His purposes. Our strategy should not be to become mindless and passive, but to be willing and receptive to God’s impact on us. As we yield to God, He begins reshaping us into valuable vessels.
Our society admires assertiveness, independence, and defiance of authority. In a relationship with God these qualities become stubbornness, self-importance, and refusal to listen or change. Left unchecked, stubbornness becomes a way of life and hostile to God.
Jeremiah’s words and actions challenged the people’s social and moral behavior. He had openly spoken against the king, the officials, the priests and false prophets, the teachers, and the wise. He wasn’t afraid to give unpopular criticism. The people could either obey him or silence him. They chose the latter. They did not think they needed Jeremiah; their false prophets told them what they wanted to hear. How do you respond to criticism? Listen carefully: God may be trying to tell you something.