Forged in Fire, do we pass the test?

Forged in Fire is one of my favorite programs I enjoy watching.  It amazes me to see someone take a piece of material entirely out of nature to think it could be used to make a knife.  They use bicycle parts, a golf club or even a hand full of nuts and bolts.  They combine them using the skills and expertise they have gleaned through years of working with metal.  The contestants are challenged to form the metal they have chosen into a fully functioning knife or antique weapon.  Many of these weapons are weapons of war and are intended for that purpose.  These weapons put through several tests that challenge the sharpness, the ability to function in battle, and test the material for strength.  In some cases, they fail by not being forged in a manner that would make it a failure-proof fully functioning tool.  The winner receives a sizeable prize.

We as Christians, faced with many threats, temptations, and life challenging issues try relying upon our strength will bring failure.  It is not an issue of poor material choice but who the forger is.  We must yield ourselves to God and allow him to create a weapon suitable for the challenge.  We sometimes resist the process of forging.  We are sometimes heated and pounded removing any impurities which would flaw us as a suitable weapon.  Our strength comes from our obedience and yielding to God’s will and purpose to bring about our part in his design.  God will whet us on the stone of adversity bringing us to a fine edge.  Through him, we can cut the cords of bondage that bind us or hinders us.  God makes us a weapon to kill the attack of our worst adversary, satan.  We too are by the standard of the world, not the material it would have classified as suitable for a weapon.  God is our strength, through him we will succeed, we are a weapon of war.  We too are strong, sharp and will achieve our intended purpose in his hands according to his perfect will.  We are not only a weapon but a winner also.  Our prize is the relationship we have with God and knowing him in the fullness of his truth.