Bible Talk: The Potter Wheel Clay And Courage

What if the parts of your life that feel beyond repair are exactly where God plans to begin again? We journey with Jeremiah into the potter’s house and watch a marred vessel become useful in the hands of a master. That vivid scene from Jeremiah 18 anchors a wider story—Judah’s stubborn drift into idolatry, the looming Babylonian exile, and a God who warns with truth yet waits with mercy. The tension is bracing: judgment was real, but so was the promise of restoration if the people would turn back.

We explore three core lessons from the wheel that speak straight to modern hearts. First, the potter is always at work. Clay never shapes itself; God applies pressure, water, and patience, forming character in seasons that feel like spinning. Second, impurities resist formation. The potter stops, kneads, and removes what weakens—our pride, bitterness, and false comforts—so we can hold living water without collapsing. Third, God does not quit on marred clay. From David’s failure to Peter’s denial, Scripture shows a pattern of holy determination: God crushes what cannot stand so he can rebuild what will endure.

Along the way, we name the hard places—addiction, relapse, fear, and shame—and frame repentance not as humiliation but as alignment with the truth that heals. Surrender becomes the turning point: clay doesn’t argue with the wheel; it yields to skilled hands. Through Scripture, testimony, and pastoral encouragement, we invite you to trust God’s timing, obey his word, and stay soft to his touch. You are not abandoned on the wheel; you are being crafted for purpose.

If this message gives you hope, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review so more listeners can find practical, faith-filled encouragement. Then tell us: where do you sense the Potter’s hands at work today?

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome, Support, And Sponsor
• 1:21 Setting The Theme: Jeremiah 18
• 2:07 Reading The Potter’s House Passage
• 3:18 Judah’s Rebellion And Jeremiah’s Calling
• 5:08 Babylon’s Advance And A Call To Repent
• 7:23 The Object Lesson: Watching The Potter
• 10:05 Lesson One: God Is Always At Work
• 13:10 Lesson Two: Yielding Through Imperfections
• 16:05 Lesson Three: God Never Gives Up
• 20:42 Hope For The Marred And Broken
• 24:05 Surrender, Timing, And Trust
• 26:20 Closing Exhortation And Prayer

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

You're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osburn. Bible talk is streaming on all major platforms. You can also go to the website at HOR421 Show.bussprout.com. I'd like to give a shout out to all the listeners and supporters. Always keep us in your prayer as we spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you'd like to contact contact Sister Deb, you can email her at Osberndeverk at gmail.com. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash HOR421 or you go through our website at HOR421 Show.buzzprout.com. Stronger in the Fourth Dimension. Fourth Dimension is a treatment center substance used to treatment and recovery. Tired of alcohol and drugs controlling your life? Step into Fourth Dimension. Break free from addiction. Compassionate, evidence-based design to support long-lasting recovery. Build a life you love at Fourth Dimension Treatment Center. Your recovery is more than a sobriety. It is a transformation. Phone number 606-621-5007. Or you can visit at www.fourthdimension.com. Now I give you your host, Sister Deb.

SPEAKER_02: 1:21

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord today. Thank you for being with me today on Bible Talk. I uh hope everybody's staying warm. So today I want to talk to you about in the Word of God. There's two things here. One is the prophet Jeremiah. I want to talk about the Prophet Jeremiah and I want to talk about the Potter's Wheel. Now, throughout the book of Jeremiah, and I'm actually I haven't read all of it, but I'm going to tell you what. What I've read so far in the book of Jeremiah, it's awesome. I strongly, strongly advise you to read it. Okay? I'm going to read something here. It's Jeremiah, I'm in the book of eight, chapter 18. I'm going to just read just a little bit of it. I'm not going to read a whole lot of it, but anyway, so the Bible says, And the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. And then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the prophet of the potter. So he made it again another vessel as seemed good to the potter to make it. And then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I can not I do what with you as the pot as this potter, saith the Lord, behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. Praise the Lord, I love the word of God. You know, the thing about it is throughout the book of Jeremiah, the Lord was trying to get the people of Israel, the house of Israel, uh the house of Judah, actually, to be exact, more exact, to turn from their crazy wicked ways and follow him, right? And so they just was just fighting. They didn't want to. I mean, they they just uh Jeremiah was known as the what the weeping prophet. And he he got that uh uh name from because he was so in deep sorrow over the nations impending destruction. The Lord had wanted Jeremiah to take this message uh of of uh to the people of Israel, you know, namely mostly the house of Judah. And so when he did, his life was he was the weeping prophet, they called him that because his life was filled with intense hardship, persecution, imprisonment, ridicule from his leaders, and even his own people, his own church, uh just turned their backs on him. Now God called Jeremiah as a young man. Jeremiah accepted, and he promised to be the voice of God. And he delivered God's message of judgment, you know, of Judah's because of Judah's idolatry and their injustice and their false prophets. Uh God had gave Jeremiah this message to take to Judah, telling them, you know what, uh the Jerusalem is going to fall to Babylon. You know, this of course this led to a life of conflict and personal sorrow, so they called him the weeping prophet. You know? Because see, Judah repeatedly, repeatedly violated the covenant with God by worshiping other gods and oppressing the poor. Uh and because of their persistent sin, on and on and on, God sent Babylon to destroy Judah. And I exile the people for 70 years. And so after this, Jeremiah he faced severe punishments uh for delivering God's message. He was beaten, he was imprisoned, thrown into a muddy cistern to die, and endured false accusations and hardships. Uh he people rejected his prophecy of impending doom. They didn't want to hear that, you know, they didn't want to hear the negativity. But God is trying to get these people to open up their eyes and realize, you know, and there's a reason that the Potter's Will comes into effect, and I'm getting to it. Um but anyway, Jeremiah's most famous line that he said is in Jeremiah. Well, his most famous sermon, but was called the Temple Sermon. He preached it in front of the gate of the temple at Jerusalem, and in it he called out the people of uh for hypothetical actions, for idolatry, for false religions and following following false, uh, false doctrine and stuff. You know, he then promised these people that judgment would come. He's telling these people, and he's preaching over and over and over that you know what he said, his his one of his lines is the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air and the beast of the earth. Amen. That's what Jeremiah was saying. Because see, in in Jeremiah's day, the Babylon Empire was trying their best and itching closer to Jerusalem, which is the capital of Judah, of course. And that is, of course, the center of Jewish worship, and they wanted to overtake the city. And so in judgment over the nation, God would actually allow the Babylonian Empire to overtake the southern kingdom and send them into exile for 70 years. But the thing about it is, is prior to that, the Lord was still willing to forego his judgment if they would just repent and return to him. Their own falling away and walking away from God. All right. Um God sent this this uh this this message to to uh to the uh the excuse me. So in a so in other words, Jeremiah, the Lord is telling Jeremiah, take this message to them, take this message to Judah, and let them know, let them know that judgment is coming, right? And he said, and he saw the destruction of Judah. The thing about it is so so in this in in chapter 18, the Lord says, the word come to Jeremiah, saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. You see, God had an objective, object, object lesson that he wanted to give to Jeremiah. And so, object lesson is when you use something physical to show a spiritual truth. In Jeremiah 18, 2, he tells him to rise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. He's telling Jeremiah, get up, Jeremiah, go down there because I've got something I want to tell you, and you'll hear it. So uh, so God is sending Jeremiah down there to observe the potter, and and is a way of giving Jeremiah this message, right? A message of hope. So God's telling Jeremiah that even though Israel is marred by its sin, I mean it's right here, and he said, even though it's marred by its sin, God is telling Jeremiah that they turned their backs on me, but I will restore them, I will remake them, I will forgive them, is what Jeremiah is telling, is what the Lord is telling Jeremiah. And so, you know, Jeremiah, he got up and he went down there, he goes to the potter's house, and and the Lord tells Jeremiah, go to the potter's house, and there you will hear my words. I will make it so you hear my words. And so Jeremiah gets down to the potter's house, and as he he was sitting, and and I can imagine, we can imagine Jeremiah sitting outside or sitting in the room in the corner watching the potter work, right? And so we let's let's put ourselves in Jeremiah Jeremiah's shoes right now and let's let's look. And we were watching the potter, and as he would take the lump of clay, now I've not had don't know a whole lot about pottery. Uh I've seen a few things, but but I'm not a I'm not a potter. So but he would take the lump of clay and he would sit it on this wheel and he would spin it, right? And he would begin to take his hands and his fingers and he'd begin to mold the clay, and he wanted to make it into something beautiful. And maybe let's just say, according to this word, it said, in the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the potter. So you know what? He saw that the clay wasn't responding to the potter's hands like it should. Okay? Maybe it had imperfections and impurities in it. So then so this potter would take it off, he would, he would take it off the wheel, and he would use his hands and his fingers, and he would take all the impurities out of it. He would get the if there was dirt, he would take the dirt out of it, if there was air, he would push the air pockets. He'd done whatever he could do to make this clay a little bit better and moldable than what it was, right? Because he was going to try to make something beautiful out of it. And that's what the potters, that's what and back in those days, we can imagine that, you know, uh, I'm sure evidently each each town or city probably had a their own potter uh uh business, and and he would make ashtrays and he would make uh uh bowls and dishes and plates and and and things to carry water in, and I don't know why I said ashtrays, that's probably something mine would look like if I ever had to try to do pottery. But anyway, so so the pottery, so we could guess that the pottery would take this clay and he would need all these perfections out of it. And he would put it back on the wheel and he would start spinning it, and then the potter would make something special out of it, right? So people today, Jeremiah, I'm sorry. Jeremiah learned some great great lessons that day at the potter's wheel. I gotta slow down, ma'am. Um give me some water. Um so I believe that you and me today have lessons to learn.

SPEAKER_01: 11:17

I'm sorry, guys. I rebuke you, Satan, in the name of Jesus. So please bear with me. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 11:29

Um so the first thing that that I think Jeremiah learned was, and what we need to learn, was that the potter was always at work with the clay. You see, the clay could never in and of itself make something beautiful of itself. It would only take a potter. You can take a pounce a bunch of clay, lay it on the wheel, and sat and look at it, it's not gonna mold itself. So see, that could only happen with the potter's hands. He always had to work with the clay to make it something beautiful. And you see, friends, today we need to realize, as I'm sure Jeremiah did that day, that God works with his creation. He works with us. And in in the trying times, in the good times, the bad times, the sad times, the lonely times, all of those times, God is still at work in you. You are being made. You know what? Uh He told me about a month ago that he had me on the potter's wheel. He told me in a prophecy that he had me on a potter's wheel, and he was making me into what he wanted me to be. And I thank him for that because that has given me so much more uh courage and and and to be able to step out and do more of what he's telling me to do. Right? And you know what that's telling me, people, that I'm being made, I'm being formed, I'm being molded again. Amen. He did that the first time when he made me. And God's not finished with me, he's not finished with you. He's still applying his loving, long fingers to your life, shaping you, fashioning you into what he wants you to become. And my friends, I know we can all agree that molding hurts. I, amen, I can imagine being on that potter's wheel and that potter's strong hands pushing and molding me and pushing uh all the clay back. I can imagine how that would hurt. But friends, kneading hurts. And when God starts to kneading all of those things out of our life, and I'm talking about kneading as in needing the clay. I'm not talking about need, need. But he's not done with us. He needs all of these clay, all this, he needs it and he moves it and he pushes all the impurities out of the way. And my friends, I need to tell somebody today, please, somebody needs to hear this today. You need to learn and see that God is at work, not only in your blessings, but also in your bruisings. People, no matter what you're doing, where you go, or what you do, God is there, always working in your life. And Jeremiah learned that, and that's a lesson we need to learn today. The second thing that I think Jeremiah learned that day was that some of the clay, because it contains impurities and imperfections, will maybe not all the time yield to the potter's touch. That's like us, you know. Jeremiah noticed that this clump of clay had impurities and it wouldn't yield and it wouldn't go and it wouldn't lay and it wouldn't fluff up or whatever the way the potter wanted it. So we noticed that the potter took it off the wheel and he removed the imperfections and he needed it and put it back on, he placed it on the wheel, and he worked with it some more. And friends, that's exactly why God, that's the way God works with us. Now we can reject God's word in our lives. We can reject his work, we can refuse what God offers us. We can do that. He gave us free will, he we can make that decision to reject the Lord. And it's a sad thing when we do, because when we turn away the love and the providence that God provides for our lives, we're gonna wind up broken and twisted, man. And that's what we will. When we don't let God do the work in our lives, we would not become the masterpiece that he created us to be. Yeah, you can reject the working of God in our lives, but if we do, we are gonna suffer for it, trust me. You can stiffen up, you'll harden yourself just like a mar just like a bundle of clay setting on that wheel. If we don't let the Lord, if we don't let him transform our lives into what he wants us to be, we're gonna stiffen up, we're gonna harden like clay, and we're just gonna sit there. My friends, today we somebody needs to hear that you need to let the Lord need your life. Let him move in your life the way he wants to and make you into the masterpiece that he created you to be. Right? Um the third lesson that I believe, which I think is the greatest lesson of it all, is the potter never gave up on his clay. He worked with it and he worked with it and he worked with it. He'll keep on working with it, kneading it and turning it until he creates something beautiful, he creates something he wants it to be. You know, have you ever just thought to yourself, uh, if it weren't for the determination of God, because that's exactly what I believe Jeremiah discovered that day, he discovered the determination of God. God needs us and he moves us and he turns us over and over until he does create something that he wants us to be. That's determination. And I and you need to ask yourself, have you ever thought, wow, where would you and I be if it wasn't for the determination of God? Because see, he doesn't give up on us. We are the ones that give up. God doesn't give up, he's determined to work with us. We are the ones that walks off and leave him. And let's look at some of the people in the Bible. Look at David. He committed murder because at because of his own lust. And you would have thought that David was the one God would have said, okay, well, you know, okay. Nope, God didn't. God was going to make something good out of David, and he did. Look at Peter. Lord Peter denied, denied that he ever even knew Jesus, not more times, three times. He hauled, I never knew him, three times. You can imagine that God would have forgotten all about Peter right then and there, but God didn't. God didn't. He was determined to make something out of Peter, and he did. This is the rock upon which I'll build my house. You know, God, God's determination is so strong that he wants to build us into something, make us something beautiful for his use, that he can use us to spread his word. Friends, I'm asking you, can you imagine that God would have forgotten about Peter, but he didn't? Just like us, we all, none of us are perfect. And my friends, that's what God does for us today. No matter how many times we turn away from him, no matter how many times we fail in our journey to him, no matter how many times we break our trust in him, no matter how many times, all we gotta do is turn back to him. And he will continue his work in us. And he will make us what he wants us to be. See, God keeps working. He remains in the potter's house. He's the master potterer, people. He remains at the potter's house at the wheel, working through our lives, through all of our frustrations, all of our anger, all of the stuff that we're fighting through down here. We're not alone. We might feel we're alone, but he's working with us. And he wants to turn us in to the most beautiful, precious pieces of art that he knows we can be because he made us. Friends, we may be marred, we may be dented by life, bruised. Some of us has probably got battle scars, right? But he doesn't throw us away. He reshapes us, he rebuilds us, he remolds us. You see, in Jeremiah 18 4, see, it says that the vessel was marred, it wasn't right, it needed more work. And the word of God said that the potter crushed it and he made it again. The same clay that was marred. He didn't throw it away, he made It better. Amen. He made it better. He made it again. And that's exactly how he does us. He doesn't throw us away. He doesn't forget about us. He made us, he made us again. He will reshape us again. See, the master a potter created us in the image of God. And he wants to show his mercy and his grace. Even though we are marred. God is still people in the remolding business. He hasn't gone away. And God can remold you. He can make you, remake you. He can make you new. You just got to give him a chance. My friends, today I know you we are the clay and he is the potter. And that wheel, that wheel that we set on that's going around and around that the potter, that's the circumstances of our life. And I believe today that God wants to mold you to shape you into a vessel that he can use for his glory. You may feel broken, marred, shattered. He will repla re reshape you, people. There is hope in the potter's hands. And all you have to do is tell the Lord today, I'm low, I'm a mess. I'm a mess, Lord, I'm marred. I've got battle scars. I'm wounded. I'm hurt. We see that every single day of every everywhere we walk and go, wherever we visit, there's always something there ready to snap on us or hurt us or scream at us or holler at us. We hear this every day. We get battle scars, people, is what I call it. But again, there's hope in the potter's hand. You have to tell the Lord today, I know, Lord, I'm a mess. Tell them, I know I'm marred. Just tell them to mold you. People, that's all you have to do. That's all you have to do. Right? Now, the process, it's not necessarily pretty. It can be messy. Because there's some of you, and including me, that's been marred by drugs, some being marred and and stuck by drinking and much more. And maybe you think today that God's finished with you. Maybe you think that God can't use you. But I'm telling you now, somebody needs to hear this. Think again. Think again. Because God will break our worldly vessels and make us again, people. You see, friends, we are in good hands. And God knows how to mold us. He knows just the amount of pressure that is needed to design us, his vessel for his purposes. He knows what he's doing. He knows how to mold us. He molded us before. See, the master potter, he knows how to restore. He knows how to restore you despite our brokenness. He molds us into what he wants us to be. I know he does. Because he told me that last month. He told me I've got you on a potter's wheel. And I'm making you in to what I want you to be. And friends, I'm telling somebody today, God wants to mold you into a vessel that you will give you purpose and that will give him glory. Won't you put your life in the hands of the master potterer and let him take all that impurities away. Let him need all of them impurities, all of that messy stuff. Let him take away. Because people to be molded into the hands of the potter, we have to allow God to have complete control over our lives. You see, friends, clay doesn't resist the potter's hands, the potter's touch, the fingers. Clay goes wherever the direction that he pushes it. It yields to the process, if you will. Right? And that's what we have to do. We have to fully surrender to the Lord, knowing that he has a perfect plan for us, even when the process seems difficult, even when we're marred, even when we have battle wounds and battle scars. We have to let go of the resistance and allow him to work in our hearts. And this means obeying his word, trusting his timing. And of course, often we're going to have to go through things that are not easy. But see, God, the master potter, he knows when it's time to soften us, to correct us, or to even start over. He never forces the clay, he patiently guides it. And that's what he's waiting to do for us today. Every one of us. He's waiting. And I'm going to close with this today, friends. Today we need to pray, and when we need to ask God to transform us. We need to ask God to remove what the impurities that's in our lives. We need to submit to the process, if you will. We can trust that he's shaping us more and more into the image that he has for us. God is the potter who never gives up on us, even when we fail, just like Judah, just like Israel. He's willing to remake us and to remold us. And that's all Judah, that's all Israel had to do was to turn back from their wicked ways and turn back to the Lord, and He would have He would have He would have forgiven. Friends, we need to trust in the Potter, because He has a plan for you. Allow yourself to be shaped, to fulfill the will of God. Allow Him to remake you, be foreign by His hands, and be saved by His grace. Thank you all for listening. Um I hope this is I hope this has blessed someone as much as it just blessed me to bring it. I hope and pray that people out there understand that we need to trust the Master Potter. It's all in His hands. All we got to do is give it to Him and trust Him. Let Him reshape you. Let Him mold you. Give it all to Him. Because I think in due time we're gonna need Him coming up. It's crazy and it's getting crazier. But somebody needs to hear that today. Give it all to Him. I hope this has blessed you guys. Uh I'm sorry for all the uh coughing and hacking and stuff I did. It's throat stuff. Anyway, uh God bless everybody. Please be careful out there with the storm and stuff that's coming up if we get it. Everybody be safe. Take care of each other. Don't forget, pray to the Lord, give it all to him. Thank you. God bless everybody, and I'm gonna end with a prayer. Lord our Father God in heaven, Lord, I ask you to let these words, this potter's will, let these words and these pictures and this verses and this word go to the hearts and the minds and the ears that need to hear it today. Let the people that need to hear this to understand that all they gotta do, all they gotta do is turn from their wicked ways and give it back to you. All they had to do, don't be like Judah, don't be like Israel. Don't just turn your back on the Lord. He is ready, willing, and standing right there. And let people understand that he's ready and willing right there. Lord, help them understand that you're there. Ready and willing to reshape them. Lord, bless each and everybody listening today. Bless each and every one of us. We thank you. We praise you. We honor you. We ask these at all things. In Jesus' holy name. God bless everybody.

SPEAKER_03: 27:53

Jesus. I'm walking.

SPEAKER_00: 27:56

Hey, you've been listening to Bible Talk with Sister Dev Osborne. Recorded at the 421 Studio. For contact information, you can email at H O R 421 Ministries at gmail.com. Phone number is 239-849-1502.

SPEAKER_03: 28:27

I'm singing writing with my mind.