"Iron and Play-dough" - Crosswalk the Devotional - May 23, 2011
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May 23, 2011
Iron and Play-dough
by Ryan Duncan, Editor, theFish.com
"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." – Psalm 9:10
I once saw a man forging his own arrow heads. It was very interesting to watch, but what really surprised me was the intensity the process required. Watching movies, you would think forging just consisted of banging hot metal a few times with a hammer. In reality, it takes hours. You first need to find the proper kind of metal, then you need to subject it to extreme heat, then pressure to shape, then more heat, more shaping, cool it with water, then more shaping.
The same principles that apply to forging also apply to Christians. Look through the Bible and you will find ample proof of that. Moses wandered a desert for forty years, David struggled as a King and father, and Job saw his entire world ripped from his grasp. As a kid I always wondered how God could allow these things to happen to his followers, but as the years have gone by I’ve come to understand why. God love us and wants what’s best for us, but he also needs us to be strong for his Kingdom.
I think Helen Keller put it best when she said “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”If God never let anything bad happen to us, if we hid from the world under Christ and never suffered, we would end up becoming like playdough. We might be able to look the part, but when it matter and people were depending on us, we would fall apart. There will be moments in our lives when God will seem harsh, or even cruel.
It could be the loss of a loved one, an illness, or maybe a broken dream. Through it all though, remember that God loves you and will never abandon you. Allow yourself to be shaped into the person God needs you to be, so that on the day Christ calls you, you will be able to stand as firm as iron.
Intersecting Faith and Life
Take time out of your day to pray and contemplate what God wants for your life.
Further Reading
John 14:1-3
