Forged In The Fire

One of man’s greatest discoveries is how to make iron. It has changed the course of history. The rocks God created are made up with raw metals in them. To extract these metals from the rock there is a process called smelting. First the rock is crushed to remove dirt and other impurities. Then the ore is heated up in a blast furnace where it liquefies and the iron sinks to the bottom of the furnace and the impurities or slag rises to the top where it is removed. Depending on how pure they want the iron the process is repeated. Once this is done the iron is ready for forging. There two types of forging called “free forging” and “die forging”. Free forging is where the iron is hammered or pressed into the desired shape. Die forging is when a die is made in the shape of the desired object and the molten metal is poured in it and cooled.

Our lives as Christians undergo the same processes. God knows the raw potential in us but first He must remove the impurities to get to them. He does this by crushing us under the weight of our sin at the cross of Calvary. It is at the cross where we humbly confess our sin and accept His Son as our Savior, that the main impurity in us (sin) is removed. 

But this is just the beginning of the lifelong process. So now here we sit as a clump of unrefined ore. Hebrews 12:29 says that “Our God is a consuming fire”. God starts turning up the heat in our lives through trials and testing to remove more of the slag in our lives. He wants to build our tensile strength so we will not break under the stresses of life.  As He removes more slag from our lives He then starts to apply the forging process to us. God does not use the die forging process but the free forging process because each one of us is a unique creation of His. Part of this process is in our hands because we have free will. We can either allow God to refine us or not. One of the ways we can allow God to refine us is to keep a strong relationship with Him. This is accomplished through prayer, bible reading, and church attendance, groups, serving at church and serving in our communities. As we grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus, He continually hones and sharpens us to be instruments of His Righteousness. 

Hebrews 4:12 states “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Ephesians 6:17 says the “sword of the Spirit is the Word of God”.

The Word of God is the hammer that forges us into who God wants us to become for His Glory.  The sharper our sword, the more useful we can be to God. One of my favorite pair of verses are 1 Peter 4:12 & 13 “Dear friends, don’t be surprised by the fiery trials you are going through, as if some strange thing is happening to you. Instead, be very glad- because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.” 

Our trials are temporary. The joy of God’s glory is forever.

Just as the discovery of iron changed the course of history, allowing God to purify you will change the course of your life.

Are you being forged in the fire and allowing God to shape and mold you?