In the Fire and On the Anvil

I have had the topic for this blog since the last one I wrote, but I have hesitated to write this one because I have been questioning it.  Not the relevance or the truth of it....but the timing.  I just wrote about brokenness and learning to find peace in it.  This subject seems like overkill to me.  But then I realized something humbling....I am not the one who thinks up these ideas.  They are given to me.  So because this has been rolling around in my head for the last 2 weeks....and it's not going away...I know I've gotta write it.  This is not mine.  So I have no right to question the timing or the validity of the message.  I am just the messenger.  So here goes....

Broken pottery.  Broken cisterns are what the Bible calls them....and it likens them to us.  There are voids.  Holes.  Cracks.  Missing and misplaced pieces.  That's kinda what our hearts must look like some days.  Sometimes we focus so much on the stuff that's broken and what's not there....we neglect to see the beauty of what's left....and the possibilities of what can become of all of it.  We focus on the things that caused the brokenness and the cracks and the holes.  That is such a waste of energy and time.  We can't change any of that.

Strengthen what remains.

Sometimes it's so tempting to look at someone else who is in pain....and even ourselves...and ask ourselves what that person did to deserve it.  Surely they must have brought this on themselves.  Or on the other hand, it can be tempting to question God about the pain...even to the point of getting angry with Him...because this person has done nothing wrong to merit such pain in their lives.  But what we don't always see is this...

At one point or another, unrelated to anything we have or haven't done, we all go through the fire.  It's not meant to burn us....not meant to destroy us.  It's meant to melt away any impurities or imperfections...to refine us. 

The Refiner's fire.

When refining silver, the metal is placed in the center of the fire.  Where it's the hottest.  The one refining the metal has to keep his eyes on it at all times because if it stays in the fire too long, it will be destroyed.  The imperfections are burned off.  When the refiner sees his reflection in the metal, he knows the process is finished.  The metal has reached the desired purity.  After this, as if that weren't painful enough, the warm, soft metal is put on an anvil.  The refiner then uses a hammer to shape the metal into the desired form. 

Somebody needs to hear this.  Someone has been feeling like they are being forced to endure the fire.  They are confused, wondering what they did to get there and what they need to do to get out.  The answer to both questions is...nothing.  The imperfections that you have....and we all have them...are being burned off.  As painful as it is, you just need to endure and know that it won't last forever.  Try to find your peace in the stillness of knowing He is God and He won't allow you to go through more than you are able to bear.  He's got his eyes on you and you will not be destroyed.

Someone has been feeling like they have already gone through the fire....and maybe even had been feeling relieved that they came through it without being burned...only to feel themselves being placed on the anvil and feeling that hammer coming down on them.  My heart especially breaks for these...because it doesn't seem fair for one person to endure so much pain.  And I know it doesn't sound fair now...and may even make you angry to hear it...but God sees past your present pain to your future wholeness.  He sees through the holes in your broken spirit and past the cracks to see the future of a completely restored vessel....the beauty of which is unimagineable to anyone but Him right now.

It's love that's got you in the fire and on the anvil.  And it's love that's gonna make sure it's all worth it. 

Isaiah 43:1-2

Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; neither will the flame kindle upon you.