His shaping blows

His Shaping Blows

9/13/2008

Imagine a very strong blacksmith working in his shop.

Feel the heat, hear the clinking sounds and smell the metallic odor of the place in your imagination.

The blacksmith studies hunks of blunt, shapeless metal.

He chooses one.

His creative imagination sees something beautiful and powerful.

His ingenious mind lays out his process step by step.

Then his strong body moves to carry out his plan. He knows what to do.

He begins by placing the hunk of metal in a very hot fire causing the metal to begin to glow. He continues fanning the fire making it hotter and hotter while he studies the metal. It is changing colors.

Suddenly he takes giant metal tongs and pulls the glowing piece out of the fire with a very strong grip.

He chooses a huge hammer and lays the glowing metal on a massive anvil.

With fierce determination he begins to shape the metal blow by blow….over and over.

Sparks fly and an ear splitting sound rings out as he pounds away.

At first it seems he doesn’t know what he is doing…just hammering away on a glowing hunk of metal. But slowly the piece begins to take a different shape; something long and narrow….then more blows….you begin to see a sword.

For a long time he bangs away. You’re fascinated.

Finally, the blows stop.

Great drops of persperation roll down his face and He smiles with satisfaction at his work. He plunges it into a large barrel of water.

A hissing sound; the water bubbles and steam rises.

He’s done.

Incredibly, the hunk of metal has been transformed into something else…something strong…something with purpose…and it bears the Maker’s excellence.

God is our Master Blacksmith and we begin as the worthless hunk of metal.

But He doesn’t see us that way.

He cannot make us into something new without the intense heat and the shaping blows of His hammer. It’s the only way.

Life’s blows can be His shaping blows. To yield to Him is to believe that He has an incredible outcome for our life, no matter what happens.

He is shaping us to look like the Lord Jesus….and He knows what He’s doing!