My 15 year-old son introduced me to the show Forged in Fire. I didn’t have an interest at first, but as I watched the first episode, I quickly became intrigued. In the show, four blacksmiths compete against each other to forge the best weapons. What really amazed me is learning how complex the process of forging is in order to make a quality blade. As I study His word, God has shown me several parallels between weapon forging and how He forges us to be useful Christians.
The significant features of a quality sword include strength, balance, flexibility, hardness, and sharpness. When I think about the type of Christian I want to be, I need all of these same qualities. I want to be strong so I can bear my own burdens and share the burdens of others, balanced in managing time, family, and finances, flexible when things do not go as planned, hard so I do not crack under pressure, and sharp with the knowledge of God’s truth so that I can cut through the lies and deception of the enemy.
In order to achieve the desired qualities in a weapon, blacksmiths use a process of heating, quenching, hammering, grinding, and polishing. The forge fire is usually between 2,150° and 2,375° Farenheit. The weapon is placed in the fire then taken out and hammered over and over again until the desired shape is obtained. Then the weapon is hardened and tempered by extreme heat and quick cooling in a quench tank. To sharpen the weapon the blacksmith grinds the edge down. Finally the weapon is polished until it shines beautifully.
As Christians, we are often placed right in the fire. God does not create evil or wickedness, but he does use the pain of this world to shape, strengthen, and sharpen us into useful, effective weapons for His glory. We go through repeated trials, (just as the blade goes through repeated heating, hammering, and grinding), so that we can learn to trust, endure, and hope. We are sharpened so that we can effectively stand up to evil in this world and counter wickedness and evil with the truth of God’s Word.
In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist states that while he baptizes with water, Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. This immediately makes me think of a blade being placed in the forge.
Zechariah 13:9 reads: “And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’ This verse clearly shows that God uses fire to refine and test us.
Therefore, we should not be surprised when we face struggles and pain in this life. When we realize that God is using this “forge of fire” for His purposes, we can have peace and even have joy. Romans 5:3-5 explains that suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. 1 Peter 5:10 assures us that after the suffering Christ will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. And Romans 8:18 promises us that the sufferings we are enduring now will not even compare with the glory that will be revealed to us later. When I read that verse about glory, I just imagine the Master Blacksmith holding His finished polished sword with pride as it gleams in the light.
©2021 LivinginHisKingdom.com