Hammered

 March 13, 2023

“Is not My word like…a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” —Jeremiah 23:29 

God is relentless. We like it when he relentlessly pursues us, rescuing us from our sins, strengthening us in our storms, or comforting us in our sorrow, but God is also relentless in refusing to let us off the hook of conviction from his Word. Philippians 1:6 assures us that he will complete the good work he began in us; he won’t leave us hanging somewhere between born again and fully mature. He doesn’t just save us FROM something; he also saves us TO something. Through faith in what Jesus Christ did for us by dying on the cross for our sins, we are saved from the penalty of our sins. But by the power of the Holy Spirit he has placed within us, we are being saved from the power our sins held over us. It is that process of continuing salvation or sanctification that has my attention today.

A few days ago, I wrote about God speaking to me about what might be weighing me down in my life’s race. When I asked him that question, the answer came back loud and clear: “Let go of that item your heart has been lusting over.” Yes, the correct word is “lusting.” Nothing sexual here; just a fixation on something I had my heart set on. I listened in vain for any other word, another item, a different suggestion. The only word that would come to mind was that particular item. I finally gave in. “OK, Lord, I’ll give it up.”

The very next day, I was reading in 1 Kings a story about a man of God who heard clearly from the Lord, but let himself be talked into doing what God had forbidden. God was saying to me, “Jim, I’ve been crystal clear with you, but I know your heart. You’ll figure out a way to wiggle and squirm your way around what I’ve told you. So I’m giving you this Scripture as a warning.” So, in addition to letting go of what I had my heart set on, I knew I had to completely eliminate any possible back door remedies I might be able to dream up.

Did I mention that God is relentless? This morning in my reading, he hammered me. “Be content with what you have.” —Hebrews 13:5

God isn’t satisfied with my obeying in the matter of this particular item. He knows how easily I am tempted by “stuff,” so he levels his axe at the root of my covetousness, ie. my imagining that any of this world’s baubles has the ability to satisfy the soul. I don’t yet know the specifics of what God has in mind, other than he sets before me the example of Jesus Christ who laid aside the glories of heaven to purchase my salvation at the cost of his own blood (Philippians 2:5-8).

God’s Word is the hammer, his will is the anvil, and my will lays between them as the mighty arm of the Lord aims the blows that will shape me into the image of Christ, which image was deformed and defiled by sin, but is being restored, blow by blow. Those blows rain down on me, but I must not flinch, for the work of God in me is as precious as the blood shed for me.