Tested, Tried, and True

My Dan, 2008
Tested, Tried, and True Marine

"He knows the way I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10)

From Streams in the Desert, L. B. Cowman, March 4th:

       "An old village blacksmith once said, 'In order to strengthen a piece of steel, I must first temper it. I heat it, hammer it, and then quickly plunge it into a bucket of cold water. Very soon I know whether it will accept the tempering process or simply fall to pieces...I realize the Lord tests me in the same way: through fire, water, and heavy blows of His hammer. If I'm unwilling to withstand the test, or prove to be unfit for His tempering process, I am afraid He may throw me unto the scrap heap.'"

          I'm in a time of testing. Are you? May the Holy Spirit of God enable us to pass the tests of God to become honorable vessels of God, meet for His use, and prepared for every good work, all to the glory of God!


The Village Blacksmith
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he.
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands...

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low...

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing floor...

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.