206 Can I Not Treat You As The Potter a Guided Christian Meditation on Jeremiah 18:1-6

206 Can I Not Treat You As The Potter a Guided Christian Meditation on Jeremiah 18:1-6

I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina:

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.

Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Bible verses for Meditation:

Jeremiah 18

NASB
1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house; there you will hear my word.
3 I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel.
4 Whenever the vessel of clay he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making another vessel of whatever sort he pleased.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?—oracle of the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

NABRE
1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house; there you will hear my word.
3 I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel.
4 Whenever the vessel of clay he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making another vessel of whatever sort he pleased.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?—oracle of the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

Meditation on Scripture:

Much of the time when us humans consider the word of the Lord we ponder what it means to us. We try and figure out what the Lord is doing in our life. We have a tendency to expect that what we think about something is important perhaps because much of God’s focus when he speaks to us is to help move us along to follow in His path. Consider things from God’s perspective. As he shapes the cosmos and has formed this earth at times he has declared that things are not how he wants them. The Old Testament is filled with this kind of language. How often do we consider God’s justice from His perspective? How often do we see the struggle he has with our wickedness and disobedience. In being all powerful God could force each of us to follow the commandments. Yet he doesn’t do this. Instead he lets things develop and at times problems grow, such as in the time of Jeremiah when the whole nation was punished for idol worship.

Consider your life as a delicate glob of clay in the hands of a true master craftsman. As God works to shape you and change you into what he wants of you, He knows what he wants it to look like. At times that may mean that certain areas will be stretched and pushed. Certain areas will be pinched or ground down. Even with all of this at times His goals for us may take more. Perhaps you have experienced a moment in your life that has felt like a clay jar was finally starting to take shape and then everything came crashing down around you. Perhaps it was because God had different expectations for you. Perhaps as you allow him to rework you again, your relationship will him will continue to develop. Perhaps he will be more satisfied with the outcome, even though it has caused a lot of frustration or heart ache.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials.
Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
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Updates:

Final Question: Do you trust God to sculpt your life?

Final Thought: As we give up on holding God to our human standard and expectation we can find peace in knowing that his goal for us, is spiritual growth. He does not care about the things we are able to obtain in this life. He wants to know if we learned to live and love. If not then we may need to be tossed again and sculpted again. If you are in the middle of a smooth period, or plateau give thanks to the God who is forming you and search deep within your heart for what your expectations are about life. Does God owe you this smooth period? I truly feel that as we spend our smooth periods learning to be grateful we can escape some of the snares of pride. Your life’s design may not make sense to you at this current moment but it is my experience that this is extremely common. Most people can’t put it together until years later, if at all in this life. Our best bet is to trust God and then do the best we can while having a heart open to believing and receiving the Grace of God.

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