Our Daily Bread Wednesday 26 March 2025 Devotion – Shaped by God
OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY
OUR DAILY BREAD DAILY DEVOTIONAL 26 MARCH 2025 MESSAGE
Welcome to Today’s Daily Bread Devotional Message to inspire and bless you! Read, Study and, Meditate over and over again. Let the blessings of God rest upon you!
Our Daily Bread Wednesday 26 March 2025 Devotion
Topic: Shaped by God
Bible in a Year: Joshua 22-24; Luke 3
Bible Verse: Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. – Jeremiah 18:6
Today’s Scripture: Jeremiah 18:1-10
Insight: It’s a dangerous misconception that the God of the Old Testament is angry and judgmental, while the God of the New Testament is loving, merciful, gracious, and forgiving. We see abundant evidence of God’s grace and mercy throughout the Old Testament. God said through His prophet Jeremiah, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be . . . destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent” (18:7-8). The book of Jonah demonstrates this. When Jonah brought his message of repentance to the degenerate city of Nineveh, its citizens heeded God’s warning and were spared (3:4-10). In Jeremiah, God offers a similar opportunity to Judah (18:11). These are just two examples of God’s love and mercy in the Old Testament. God’s character is consistent. He loves His children too much to permit them to persist in sin. By: Tim Gustafson
OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL ODB
Dan Les, a lifelong potter, creates decorative vessels and sculptures. His award-winning designs are inspired by the town in Romania where he lives. Having learned the craft from his father, he made this comment about his work: “[Clay needs to] ferment for a year, to have rain fall on it, to freeze and thaw out [so that] . . . you can shape it and feel through your hands that it is listening to you.”
What happens when clay “listens”? It’s willing to yield to the artisan’s touch. The prophet Jeremiah observed this when he visited a potter’s house. He watched as the craftsman struggled with a vessel and finally reshaped it into something new (Jeremiah 18:4). God said to Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (v. 6).
God has the ability to build us up or bring us down, yet His ultimate purpose isn’t to overpower or destroy us (vv. 7-10). Rather, He’s like a skilled craftsman who can identify what isn’t working and reshape the same lump of clay into something beautiful and useful.
Listening clay doesn’t have much to say about this. When prodded, it moves in the desired direction. When molded, it stays in place. The question for us is this: are we willing to “humble [ourselves] under God’s mighty hand” (1 Peter 5:6) so He can shape our lives into what He wants them to be? By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
How are you listening to God today? What do you think His purpose is for refining you through your life’s experiences?
Dear God, please help me to trust You. I want to submit my life to You.
