Are You Ready for a Hammer Blow?

Daily Devotional – Sunday, March 3, 2024
Is not My word…like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Jeremiah 23:29 (NKJV)

In my neighbourhood, there are people who make a living by making ballast. Their tools of trade are a hammer or a mallet and a thick rubber band made from old car tires. With these implements and sheer strength, these men and women bring sizeable rocks into submission and end up with pebbles.

My Word is Like a Hammer

Similarly, God has a hammer because He, too, has rocks to break. The Lord states, “Is not My word…like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). Now that we know God’s word is the hammer, what are the rocks in this scenario?

David provides us with the answer when he writes, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17. This statement is buttressed by a similar one: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18).

Are You Ready for a Hammer Blow?

From the foregoing, all human beings are rocks that need hammer blows! This means allowing the word of God to shatter our pride and cherished sins. This painful process entails recognizing our sinfulness, confessing and forsaking our iniquity, and surrendering to the control of the Holy Spirit.

The word of God, powered by His Spirit, is the agent for our transformation from spiritual rebels to obedient children of God. If you feel hurt by a sermon, a gospel hymn, or an admonition from a fellow believer, consider that your share of the hammer blow! Instead of resisting, submit your broken heart to God, for that is the sacrifice that pleases Him.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, may your hammer break my heart and produce the works of repentance.