{"id":3323,"date":"2018-07-01T10:46:29","date_gmt":"2018-07-01T10:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=3323"},"modified":"2018-07-01T12:07:54","modified_gmt":"2018-07-01T12:07:54","slug":"the-hammer-the-file-and-the-furnace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=3323","title":{"rendered":"The Hammer, The File, and The Furnace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 You are starting a fire?<\/p>\n

Prodigal:\u00a0 Yes, which means it is a perfect time to share.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is from Charles Swindoll<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was the enraptured Rutherford who said in the midst of very painful trials and heartaches:<\/p>\n

“Praise God for the hammer, the file, and the furnace!”<\/p>\n

Let’s think about that.\u00a0 The hammer is a useful and handy instrument.\u00a0 It is an essential and helpful tool, if nails are ever to be driven into place.\u00a0 Each blow forces them to bite deeper as the hammer’s head pounds and pounds.<\/p>\n

But it the nail had feelings and intelligence, it would give us another side of the story.\u00a0 To the nail, the hammer is brutal, relentless master–an enemy who loves to beat it into submission.\u00a0 That is the nail’s view of the hammer.\u00a0 It is correct.\u00a0 Except for one thing.\u00a0 The nail tends to forget that both it and the hammer are held by the same workman.\u00a0 The workman decides whose “head” will be pounded out of sight…and which hammer will be used to do the job.<\/p>\n

This decision is the sovereign right of the carpenter.\u00a0 Let the nail but remember that it and the hammer are held by the same workman…and its resentment will fade as it yields to the carpenter without complaint.\u00a0 The same analogy holds true for the metal that endures the rasp of the file and the blast of the furnace.\u00a0 If the metal forgets that it and the tools are objects of the same craftsman’s care, it will build up hatred and resentment.\u00a0 The metal must keep in mind that craftsman knows what he’s doing….and is doing what is best.<\/p>\n

Heartaches and disappointments are like the hammer, the file, and the furnace.\u00a0 They come in all shapes and sizes: an unfulfilled romance, a lingering illness and untimely death, and unachieved goal in life, a broken home or marriage, a severed friendship, a wayward and rebellious child, a personal medical report that advises “immediate surgery,”\u00a0 a failing grade at school, a depression that simply won’t go away, a habit you can’t seem to break.\u00a0 Sometimes heartaches come suddenly…other times they appear over the passing of many months, slowly as the erosion of earth.<\/p>\n

Do I write to a “nail” that has begun to resent the blows of the hammer?\u00a0 Are you at the brink of despair, thinking that you cannot bear another day of heartache?\u00a0 Is that what’s gotten you down?<\/p>\n

As difficult as it may be for you to believe this today, the Master knows what He’s doing.\u00a0 Your Savior knows your breaking point.\u00a0 The bruising and crushing and melting process is designed to reshape you, not ruin you.\u00a0 Your value increasing the longer He lingers over you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Matthew 6:8<\/p>\n

Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jennifer Van Allen<\/p>\n

www.theprodigalipig.com<\/p>\n

www.faithincounseling.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Me:\u00a0 You are starting a fire? Prodigal:\u00a0 Yes, which means it is a perfect time to share.   This is from Charles Swindoll     It was the enraptured Rutherford who said in the midst of very painful trials and heartaches: “Praise God for the hammer, the file, and the furnace!” Let’s think about … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Hammer, The File, and The Furnace - The Prodigal Pig<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=3323\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hammer, The File, and The Furnace - The Prodigal Pig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Me:\u00a0 You are starting a fire? 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