Congratulations!  You got up and showed up for day number 7.  I’m not surprised by the diligence and resilience you exhibited as we walked together in peace and worked together for good.  Week 1 of this “year of firsts” is done.  The “Blacksmith’s Shop” is the title of the Introduction to Max Lucado’s book, Shaped by God.  The following excerpt inspired today’s entry.  SHAPED BY GOD is one of the books you’ll find by clicking the Book Store link in the sidebar located on the Home Page. I hope you enjoy today’s entry.  As so eloquently stated by Mr. Lucado,

In the shop of a blacksmith, there are three types of tools.  There are tools on the junkpile: outdated, broken, dull, rusty.  They sit in the cobwebbed corner, useless to their master, oblivious to their calling.  There are tools on the anvil: melted down, molten hot, moldable, changeable.  They lie on the anvil, being shaped by their master, accepting their calling.  Some people lie useless: lives broken, talents wasting, fires quenched, dreams dashed.  They are tossed in with the scrap iron, in desperate need of repair, with no motion of purpose.  Other’s lie on the anvil: hearts open, hungry to change, wounds healing, visions clearing.  They welcome the painful pounding of the blacksmith’s hammer, longing to be rebuilt, begging to be called.  Others lie in their Master’s hands: well tuned, uncompromising, polished, productive.  They respond to their Master’s forearm, demanding nothing surrendering all. 

© Copyright 1985 by Max Lucado.  All Rights Reserved.

Since today is Sunday, exercise your free will to spend some quality time in the safety and security of God’s ubiquitous presence during your quiet talk with our Father in your secret place on bended knee.  Here are a few questions for you to ask yourself and discuss with God during your quiet talk in your secret place on day 7 of this dynamic “year of firsts.”  Which one of the three types of the tools listed above are you?  Since God already knows the answer to the following question, the worst thing a person can do is to lie yourself about the truth you hated to hear last year.  Been there. Done that.  But my vain efforts only delayed the inevitable.  So, please don’t go there unless you enjoy making yourself miserable.

Was it God’s sovereign will or was it your choice that you find your diminished, marginalized soul still slumped over a dusty pile of outdated, rusted and petrified beliefs about your self-worth while feeling hopelessly trapped in the cobwebs of passive aggressive behavior?  Was it God’s will or your choice that your broken, contrite soul is still in desperate need of repair, that you’re still so content to stand on the sidelines wasting your talents?  Was it God’s will or your choice that you passively stood by watching the defeated foe Jesus Christ conquered over two thousand years ago trample the vision you abandoned and destroy the forgotten dreams you left behind?  Was it God’s will or your choice that your passion for living is still stuffed into the deep freeze of your misdirected anger, bitterness, and resentment because your desperate search for the purpose of your existence has left you empty handed, disillusioned and grasping for straws?  Was it God’s will or your choice that you now find yourself kneeling on bended knee atop an anvil being shaped by a blacksmith ready and willing to accept your calling?  The answers you seek may surprise you.

God willing, 2007 will be the “first time” great women and men like you find your redeemed, renewed and restored souls lying atop the Master’s anvil with an open heart now starving to taste the passion fruit of a new beginning inspired by the healing power of a love you never knew in 2006.  Only then can the genesis of the miraculous metamorphosis that always begins deep within the heart of your soul inspire the next generation of heroes and sheroes like you to do what you honestly believed was impossible until now.  When you least expect it, our Redeemer will resurrect the vision you turned a blind eye to and abandoned as you hung your head low after the fall.   When you least expect it, a love like one you never knew last year will wipe away every tear you shed as you cried yourself to sleep last night in a fetal position.  The tears you shed for too long and for all the wrong reasons will enable the eyes of your gifted soul to clearly see all the forgotten dreams you discarded during an extended season of sunny-side-down days. 

“Do you have enough faith to not lose hope that a manifestation of God’s love, grace, and mercy will appear and draw near before it’s too late for your gifted soul to accept the greatest gift of all?” is an excerpt from the upcoming book that’s taken me over ten years to pen.  Only God knows when great women and men like you will receive an unexpected opportunity to entertain an angel.  So treat every great person you meet on the street today the same way you desire to be loved, trusted, and respected.  As always, the choice to do so is yours alone to make.  In case you thought I forgot, the word for today is ubiquitous. Don’t forget to get some rest today.  Come Monday, please be prepared to dig deeper and climb higher than ever before.  May the peace of God be with you today until we meet again.

©Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon.  All Rights Reserved.