The potter

“But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” Jeremiah 18:4
God sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house to watch the potter in action. As Jeremiah watched, he could see the pot beginning to take shape on the potter’s wheel. But then something happened with the clay, and the potter had to change his mind about the pot, and reshape it into another form, with another purpose. We read, “Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel’” (Jer. 18:5-6).
When God starts working in a person, or a nation, He has His best plan in mind. But if that person or nation disobeys, so that His plan cannot be worked out, He will go to plan B. At the end of the day, He will still form a pot. He won’t just throw out the lump of clay, the half-formed pot, and start afresh. But the function of the pot and the value that others place on it may be quite different from what He initially intended.
It’s a similar case for our own lives. God’s plan for us is much, much better than anything we could strive to achieve for ourselves. But how often do we hinder Him from working out that plan? Have we, through our disobedience, forced Him to go to a plan B, or C, for our lives? It’s comforting to know that He won’t simply discard us because we mess up. But if we want the best for our lives, we will obey God so that He can work out His perfect plan.