The Potter's Plans for You

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The Potter’s Plans for You

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)

            On May 21, 1936, Irvin Naxon, a creative inventor, applied for a patent, which was intended for the sell and distribution of what he called the Naxon Beanery that would evenly distribute heat throughout the device, and allow for easy portability. In 1940, he finally received his patent, but when ask about the origins of this idea; he credited it to his grandmother. His grandmother was of Jewish background and the Jews believed in setting aside a day of worship from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset to honor God, which was called their Shabbat (Sabbath). During the hours of the Sabbath, it was their custom not to do any work, which included cooking. This custom was in keeping with the Torah as well as the Holy Bible. Exodus 20:8-11 ⁽⁸⁾Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁽⁹⁾Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ⁽¹⁰⁾but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant of maidservant, nor your animals nor the alien within your gates. ⁽¹¹⁾For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (NIV)

            Although the Jews did not cook food on the Sabbath, this did not keep them from being able to have a warm meal after they returned from worship services. They normally cooked a bean-stew (cholent) that went into their ovens prior to the Sabbath hours, but when the Sabbath began, they cut the oven off and the heat that remained continued to “slow-cook” the cholent until the next day. Irvin Naxton later sold his design, which was renamed as the Crock Pot and in today’s time is often used interchangeably with the name slow cooker.

           

Many slow cookers are made from a ceramic material that began as clay. There are various types of clay and therefore, they do not all function the same. Nevertheless, the clay that is used to create many slow cookers have to go through a process of refinery in order for it to be utilized; but first, the potter has to have a plan for which the clay is to be used. The slow cooker does not automatically come into existence, but the potter has to carefully think about the purpose of what he is about to make and then bring his idea into fruition. For example, when designing a slow cooker, the potter has to first decide that the clay will be used to hold food. Then, he must decide how much food should be its maximum capacity. Some slow cookers may hold 2 quarts of food and others may hold up to 6 quarts. Whatever is the intent of the potter, he has the ultimate say as to how it is designed.

            During the design process, the potter has to ensure that his slow cooker is free from defects. If its purpose is to hold 2 quarts of food, but he only makes designs it for 1 quart of food, the slow cooker’s purpose will not be fulfilled. There will be what’s considered a design flaw and back to the potter it will go. After the proper design for the slow cooker is achieved, the potter will add the tools that the slow cooker needs to operate properly. For example, A slow cooker cannot operate without having a plug to be the connection between the power source and the heating element within the slow cooker. If the potter leaves off the plug, then the slow cooker is nothing more than a mere ceramic bowl.

 The slow cooker also has to have a lid made to fit its dimensions perfectly in order to prevent spills and aid in the cooking process. The potter may not make these extras himself, but he ensures that it is outsourced in order for his product to be fully operable. Once everything is complete, the potter can then release his masterpiece into the market, so that it can be sold and used by the buyer.

           

God is our Potter and we are His clay. Just as the potter, who made the slow cooker, had to have a plan, God has a plan for our lives, which was ordained from the very beginning of time. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nation.” (NIV) God was letting Jeremiah know in this text that he was not someone that just happened to come into existence. God had a plan for him from the very beginning even prior to his birth. God’s plan then becomes our purpose.

            For every person who is born, regardless of the circumstances by which that individual came into being, God has designed a plan for his life. Only by having an intimate relationship with God, can one truly find his Divine purpose. Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever – do not abandon the works of your hands. (NIV) Many people are searching for their purpose in life from motivational speakers, television shows, secular books, harmful relationships, drugs and alcohol only to find themselves left empty and unfulfilled. Unfortunately, what they have failed to realize is that God is the Potter who created them and that He can equip them with the tools they need to fulfill the purpose that HE has for them.

           

Everyone’s purpose is not the same, but God has a universal tool that everyone can use called PRAYER. Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (NIV) By accessing this tool, the Potter can ensure help you to understand what your purpose is and help you to be in full operational mode. He will then equip you with other tools for which His plan will come into fruition in your life. After which, He can send you off for delivery to be released into the market place as a masterpiece through which He gets the glory as you fulfill His plans in your life. First, you must understand what type of clay that you are so that you can bend to the will of God by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)