Remember those old Looney Tunes Cartoons where there was always an anvil falling from the sky? As a kid, I would see those anvils falling and wonder, "How the heck did they get that thing in a tree?" Or in a plane, or in a skyscraper, or whatever other high object it was falling from. Not to mention, "Where is this ACME company located and how does one go about buying sooo many anvils?" I also always wondered what on earth the anvil was really for. Well, I think I've finally learned.
Over the last couple months, I've been pondering the Lord's Sovereignty. I know what you are thinking: that's a subject far to grand for my pea-sized brain to grasp. But still, my heart has been drawn to this side of His nature. He IS Sovereign. He raises up nations and tumbles them down. He holds the heart of the King in His hands and moves it as He wills. He is, after all, GOD. He can do as He pleases.
In pondering His sovereignty, I have naturally contemplated the things He allows to happen in my life. I have spent time listening to different viewpoints on the topic, trying to glean insight into what God has revealed to different people in the Body of Christ on this very subject of sovereignty. I have not even begun to scratch the surface of what God is teaching me about it, but this much I can say I've learned: He is God. He is good. And He allows good, bad, and ugly circumstances to come into my life, in order that I may be refined to look more like Him.
I am not saying everything that happens in life is from Him. However, I am growing more and more comfortable with, for lack of a better word, His 'God-ness.' If I trust Him as Lord, then I must do just that: TRUST HIM AS LORD. This means that I can trust that no matter what comes my way, He is God. He is good. And He will use it all to produce glory in me. I can trust His leadership. So wherever He leads, I can follow. Whether it's through the valley of the shadow of death, or up Jacob's ladder, I can trust that He's working for my good.
All of these ponderings led me to sit at my piano the other day and just worship Him for His work in my life. Without even meaning to, I began to sing a song based on Proverbs 17:4: "The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart." In that moment, this scripture was coming alive in me. All of my studying on His Sovereign nature, all of my deep thoughts about His allowances, led me to simply worship and say, "Your work in me is good."
It turns out, the crucible is a great place to be. You see, the Lord takes delight in placing me in the fire. He takes delight in forming my heart like pure gold. The issue is, do I trust His leadership enough in the process? Can I stand in the midst of a heat so hot that what was solid in my life is now molten liquid? A heat so hot that impurities I didn't even know were there start rising to the surface? Can I stand in the midst of this and worship saying, "You are Sovereign and the work of Your hands is good"?
With this song about the crucible on my lips, I just came across another familiar scripture to me, Isaiah 54:16-17. Although I have known this scripture for the majority of my life, I have never seen what I have seen today in this passage. It reads:
"“Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
How many songs, sermons, & Christian bumper stickers are based on verse 17? We LOVE to quote verse 17. Verse 17 is our go-to warfare scripture. It's our banner in the midst of intercession. It's the one we boldly shout in the enemy's direction. But, what about verse 16? Do you see His sovereignty there? It says, "Behold I have created the blacksmith, who blows the coals in the fire." There's that crucible again! It is GOD who creates the circumstances in my life that refine me. He causes the heat to be turned up by 'blowing the coals in the fire'! Ever had one of those days where everything seems to just go from bad to worse? Maybe it's just God blowing on the coals!
He prepares me as an 'instrument for His work', and the only way that I am prepared is in the fire and then upon on the anvil. Back and forth, back and forth, to the fire, then to the anvil. The Blacksmith never stops forming His instrument until it's ready for use. He creates the fire. He prepares the anvil. God even says that it is He who creates the spoiler to destroy! Now, what do we do with THAT scripture?! We can't just toss it out! We must say, "O, Sovereign Lord, you have freedom to spoil my plans! To spoil my efforts! To destroy what is futile and fruitless in my life!" Spoiling and destroying: now there's true refining. I wonder why we don't see THAT on a bumper sticker....
Without the crucible, without the coals being heated up, I cannot be made into an instrument of war. I cannot be used by God to defeat the enemy. You can't have verse 17 victory, without verse 16 refining. The only way I become a weapon that no other weapon can defeat, is by going through the fire. I AM the weapon that God is forming. I AM the vessel he uses to defeat the enemies of God. The process of becoming a Satan-stomping, demon-kicking warrior, begins with the will-crushing, obedience-trying pounding of the blacksmith's hammer on my life. And from the looks of things in my life right now, I am definitely on the anvil! But, as the coals are heated up and the hammer is coming down, I am learning to say, "You are God. You are good. And I trust your work in my life."
So, here I am on the anvil. It isn't always the easiest place to find myself, but thank the Lord, that at least they aren't falling from the sky.
Over the last couple months, I've been pondering the Lord's Sovereignty. I know what you are thinking: that's a subject far to grand for my pea-sized brain to grasp. But still, my heart has been drawn to this side of His nature. He IS Sovereign. He raises up nations and tumbles them down. He holds the heart of the King in His hands and moves it as He wills. He is, after all, GOD. He can do as He pleases.
In pondering His sovereignty, I have naturally contemplated the things He allows to happen in my life. I have spent time listening to different viewpoints on the topic, trying to glean insight into what God has revealed to different people in the Body of Christ on this very subject of sovereignty. I have not even begun to scratch the surface of what God is teaching me about it, but this much I can say I've learned: He is God. He is good. And He allows good, bad, and ugly circumstances to come into my life, in order that I may be refined to look more like Him.
I am not saying everything that happens in life is from Him. However, I am growing more and more comfortable with, for lack of a better word, His 'God-ness.' If I trust Him as Lord, then I must do just that: TRUST HIM AS LORD. This means that I can trust that no matter what comes my way, He is God. He is good. And He will use it all to produce glory in me. I can trust His leadership. So wherever He leads, I can follow. Whether it's through the valley of the shadow of death, or up Jacob's ladder, I can trust that He's working for my good.
All of these ponderings led me to sit at my piano the other day and just worship Him for His work in my life. Without even meaning to, I began to sing a song based on Proverbs 17:4: "The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart." In that moment, this scripture was coming alive in me. All of my studying on His Sovereign nature, all of my deep thoughts about His allowances, led me to simply worship and say, "Your work in me is good."
It turns out, the crucible is a great place to be. You see, the Lord takes delight in placing me in the fire. He takes delight in forming my heart like pure gold. The issue is, do I trust His leadership enough in the process? Can I stand in the midst of a heat so hot that what was solid in my life is now molten liquid? A heat so hot that impurities I didn't even know were there start rising to the surface? Can I stand in the midst of this and worship saying, "You are Sovereign and the work of Your hands is good"?
With this song about the crucible on my lips, I just came across another familiar scripture to me, Isaiah 54:16-17. Although I have known this scripture for the majority of my life, I have never seen what I have seen today in this passage. It reads:
"“Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
How many songs, sermons, & Christian bumper stickers are based on verse 17? We LOVE to quote verse 17. Verse 17 is our go-to warfare scripture. It's our banner in the midst of intercession. It's the one we boldly shout in the enemy's direction. But, what about verse 16? Do you see His sovereignty there? It says, "Behold I have created the blacksmith, who blows the coals in the fire." There's that crucible again! It is GOD who creates the circumstances in my life that refine me. He causes the heat to be turned up by 'blowing the coals in the fire'! Ever had one of those days where everything seems to just go from bad to worse? Maybe it's just God blowing on the coals!
He prepares me as an 'instrument for His work', and the only way that I am prepared is in the fire and then upon on the anvil. Back and forth, back and forth, to the fire, then to the anvil. The Blacksmith never stops forming His instrument until it's ready for use. He creates the fire. He prepares the anvil. God even says that it is He who creates the spoiler to destroy! Now, what do we do with THAT scripture?! We can't just toss it out! We must say, "O, Sovereign Lord, you have freedom to spoil my plans! To spoil my efforts! To destroy what is futile and fruitless in my life!" Spoiling and destroying: now there's true refining. I wonder why we don't see THAT on a bumper sticker....
Without the crucible, without the coals being heated up, I cannot be made into an instrument of war. I cannot be used by God to defeat the enemy. You can't have verse 17 victory, without verse 16 refining. The only way I become a weapon that no other weapon can defeat, is by going through the fire. I AM the weapon that God is forming. I AM the vessel he uses to defeat the enemies of God. The process of becoming a Satan-stomping, demon-kicking warrior, begins with the will-crushing, obedience-trying pounding of the blacksmith's hammer on my life. And from the looks of things in my life right now, I am definitely on the anvil! But, as the coals are heated up and the hammer is coming down, I am learning to say, "You are God. You are good. And I trust your work in my life."
So, here I am on the anvil. It isn't always the easiest place to find myself, but thank the Lord, that at least they aren't falling from the sky.
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