The Anvil - A Prophetic Picture

 "I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'" - (Zechariah 13:9 NLT)

"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." - (1 Peter 1:7 NLT)

"Anvil - a heavy steel or iron block with a flat top, concave sides, and typically a pointed end, on which metal can be hammered and shaped." - Online Dictionary

During a prayer meeting a few years ago, I had a mental picture of an Anvil. This was a time of intercessory prayer for our Church and our community. We were engaged in spiritual warfare. I believe God communicates through mental images and impressions to encourage us. I don't think every thought or picture that pops into my head is a message from God to the Church!

 But for me, it seems like a good picture of what many believers need to think about, especially in times of intense spiritual attack. God uses the testing of our faith to strengthen us and forge us into vessels for his purposes. Without trials and testing, we become weak and spiritually ineffective. All bodybuilders know that growth comes from resistance. So, spiritual growth requires us to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil.

 

Fire is a metaphor used in various ways in the Bible. God uses the fire of his holiness to purge sin from us. He uses stressful circumstances to purify our hearts and to make us battle-ready. Our battles are not with people but with worldviews and ideologies that clash with the Kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, God told Israel to drive out enemies from the land he gave them. Some wonder why He didn't destroy all of Israel's enemies for them. But, I believe God wanted his people to grow stronger by obeying his commands and learning how to fight for freedom based on his covenant commitment to them.

As New Testament believers, our enemies are spiritual beings. We must be diligent to drive them (demonic strongholds) out of our lives. We must help others experience freedom, also. The attacks never stop, but our goal is to become stronger as we grow dependent on God. In a sense, we become a weapon forged by the Master's hand that he uses to drive out spiritual darkness.