Trusting God No Matter What: Surrendering to the Potter's Hands

I long to be the kind of person who trusts God without hesitation, no matter what life throws my way. But when the reality of my circumstances doesn’t match the plans I had in mind, my faith can waver. In those moments, I often find myself shifting from a place of deep trust to a frantic attempt to take control. When uncertainty and pain cloud my vision, the question inevitably surfaces: *How do we truly trust a God who allows heartbreak and suffering to weave into our story?*

In Jeremiah 18, the prophet Jeremiah presents us with a powerful picture that helps answer this question. God had a message for the house of Israel, who had turned away from Him, fixating their attentions and affections on false gods and high places. In response to their rebellion, God sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house. There, Jeremiah witnessed the potter working clay, and through this process, he received a message from God for His people:

“Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel’” (Jeremiah 18:5-6).**

The imagery of the potter and the clay was familiar to the people of Israel, and it provided a clear picture of God’s relationship with His creation. Just as the potter shapes and molds the clay, so too does God shape and mold us. His hands are always at work, forming us into vessels that can fulfill His perfect plan and purpose.

However, much like the children of Israel, we often resist. Instead of yielding to God’s shaping hands, we struggle against Him, trying to take control of our own lives. We question the process. We resist the pressure of His shaping. And we wonder why the journey is sometimes filled with heartbreak and pain.

 Trusting the Potter's Process

The truth is, just like the clay in the potter’s hand, we need to be shaped and formed as God sees best. The clay doesn’t know what it’s going to become; it simply yields to the hands of the potter, trusting the vision of the one shaping it. That’s the same posture we’re called to take as followers of Christ — a posture of trust and surrender.

But this kind of trust is hard, especially when life takes unexpected turns. When things fall apart, when dreams seem out of reach, when heartbreak becomes a part of our story, it’s easy to feel disillusioned. We may even start questioning if God truly cares. Yet in these very moments, God invites us to trust Him more deeply.

God’s promise in Jeremiah 18 is that we are in His hands. He hasn’t abandoned us. He is actively shaping our lives, even through the hard realities we face. We may not understand why things happen the way they do, but we can trust that He sees the bigger picture. He’s crafting something beautiful out of the brokenness, and He’s doing it for our good and His glory.

Staying Moldable

Our greatest disappointments and disillusionments, those things that shake us and make us question everything, don’t have to mean that all hope is lost. In fact, these are often the moments when God is doing His deepest work within us. It’s during these times of difficulty that He’s shaping our character, refining our faith, and preparing us for the plans He has in store.

But staying moldable in the hands of the Potter requires something of us: a willingness to yield. It means letting go of our need to control and trusting that God knows what He’s doing, even when we don’t. It means believing that, despite the pain, God is good. And it means resting in the truth that He loves us more than we can comprehend.

We Can Trust Him

I don’t know what hard realities you’re facing right now, but I do know this: We can trust our God. He is the Potter, and we are the clay. His hands are steady, and His purpose for us is perfect. Even when the shaping process feels painful, we can trust that He is making something glorious out of us.

So, let’s commit to being women who trust God no matter what. Let’s surrender our hearts to the Potter, allowing Him to mold us into vessels of honor for His kingdom. And let’s rest in the truth that, though we may not always understand His ways, we can always trust His heart.

No matter the heartbreak, no matter the pain, we are in His hands — and His hands never fail.