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Between Two Calls: A Pilgrim’s Reflection
Read Jeremiah 18:2-6
I had just hung up the phone after a long call from my son, who was having difficulty with some pressures in his life. He had vented the pain, the frustration, the weariness. We prayed and the call ended.
Later, with time to reflect, I thought of the pressures in my own life. The Spirit brought to mind God, Jeremiah, and the potter. “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel..... Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Cannot I, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?’” (Jeremiah 18:2-6).
 As I considered the potter making a container, I realized that there were two pressures at work in formation. One was a pressure upon the lump from the outside. The other pressure was a pressure inside. The shape of the container was a result of both. I began to consider the inner pressure, the presence of Christ, the Spirit’s work. The outer pressure consisted of all the hassle, struggle, the wear and tear of relationships, the grind of circumstances, the setbacks. Yet the Potter is at work, lovingly, relentlessly working on me, using both. Two issues arose.
First, I sought the growth of the inner pressure–Christ within. As the pressures upon me were feeling heavy, I realized the need for a greater pressure from within: a greater sense of God’s presence, a greater vision of the Father’s greatness. Time spent with the One who loves me brought refreshing strength.
Second, I looked at how I thought about the pressures and the struggles. I realized how often I complained about them, not remembering the Potter was using them. I began to celebrate the attributes of God that corresponded to the outer pressures. I began to focus worship time as a celebration of the inner and the use of the outer.
I prayed, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” Somehow, my sense of the difficulties and my own weariness began to change. “I’m going to have to do this more often,” I told myself. I offered praise and I picked up the phone to call my son.
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David Heintzleman
Interim Pastor
FBC/Casper, WY
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