The Anvil of God's Word
Soul Snack 104/14 ...
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
When looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers worn with beating years of time.
"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he; then with a twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."
And so, I thought, the anvil of God's Word,
For ages, skeptics blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed - the hammers gone.
~ John Clifford
John Clifford has poetically explained what the good Lord taught 2600 years ago:
‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?' (Jeremiah 23:29)
Four gleanings from above:
Fact - 1 God's Word cannot be crushed anymore than water can be compressed.
Fact - 2 No amount of assault can ever bruise, re-shape or dull God's Word.
Fact - 3 God's Word outlasts its oppressor.
Fact - 4 God's Word can crush.
No wonder pagans flee the house of God, or the unconvinced disciple neglects daily light from The Word. For the unsung tune that is indelible upon their soul beats out:
God's Word has as much power to crush as to comfort.
Confronted by confession many retreat as a cockroach sprints to darkness.
To treat the Word of God lightly or loosely, to flee the Word of God or worse still to fight the Word of God is to become a hammer to an anvil, or a rock broken to pieces.
"I am formed and informed by the Word of God." ~ Brennan Manning
Today's Soul Snippet:
"Never let success go to your head, but never let failure go to your heart." ~ Alexis Slater
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