The source only says, “Selected”, but I thought this story was so good that I’d share it with you. I found it on the back page of a copy of Young Disciple magazine, Volume 19, Number 24.
The story’s entitled, “The Tempering”.
~Photobug
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Over the years, the blacksmith had endured many difficult trials and hardships. Yet through it all- he kept a joyful trust in God.
One day, an irreverent old cowboy could stand it no longer. “How can you trust a God who treats you so poorly?” A smirk on his face, he stood awaiting the answer.
The blacksmith stood silent a moment, and then held up an iron rod. “I often take a piece or iron like this and put it in the fire,” he explained. “After I bring it to a white heat, I put it on the anvil and strike it once or twice to make sure it will not break. Next, I plunge it into water, then heat it again, then once more sink it into the water. I repeat this process several times, to make sure the iron is well-tempered. Then I hammer it, bend it, rasp it, and file it. At last, it becomes something useful—a tool, a piece of machinery, or a utensil.”
The blacksmith thrust the piece of iron deep into his furnace. “My heavenly Father wants to shape me into something useful for His Kingdom. But first I must be tempered. He must put me through the fire and water of affliction. I have had some hard blows. I have been bent, rasped, and filed. But it is worth it all, for He is fitting me for His everlasting Kingdom.”
The cowboy left deep in thought, with nothing more to say.
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