Have you ever held something in your hand and hit it with a hammer? You feel the blow of the hammer, every vibration.  The hammer holder always feels every vibration of the hammer as it hits it mark, even if what the hammer is hitting isn’t in their hand.  This is no different when God is the hammer holder and He is molding us on His Anvil.  As He uses His hammer to mold us He feels those vibrations, every bit of it because He is not only holding us, but He also lives in us.  As believers the Holy Spirit indwells us (1 Cor 6:19 ), so as God is molding us, He is experiencing the molding process along with us.  More so even still, as the process effects our life, He knows exactly what the process feels like to us in an intimate and personal way.  How is this possible?

God in His infinite wisdom made it possible.  Jesus Christ lived on earth fully man and fully God (Jn 8:48-59 ).  He felt every emotion from love to pain, hurt to joy, each emotion that we feel in the molding process as humans.  Only, when Christ felt these emotions He felt them with an intensity we cannot understand because they were pure, not clouded by sin.   So, as Gods hammer molds us He knows the exact way it makes us feel each time in each moment.

We can never say to God that He is giving us more then we can bear as He holds the hammer in the molding process.  First, because He promises He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear.  (1 Cor 10:13 )  Secondly, because He feels each hit of the hammer as He molds us.  Any emotion you can name, He is not going to give you more of it then you can bear.  He is experiencing the molding process along with you, and knows how this process is effecting you.  If there is a pain, sorrow, frustration, anger, hurt, or any emotion you are holding out to God and saying "Why?" remember that He is bearing it with you, that He knows intimately and personally how you feel (Heb 2:18 ).  Rather then asking Him "Why?", consider crying to Him "Help!"  Since He has experienced all of it, and has infinite wisdom, He is the best source for the help you need.

Whenever we go on a trip we get so excited, we plan ahead, we make all the arrangements, we talk about it for weeks, sometimes months.  We tell others about it, we pack ahead of time, we might even buy new things to take along.  For those few days leading up to the trip it consumes our time.  When we arrive we enjoy all of it, we take it in because our level of excitement for the going was so high that we want to soak it all up, not miss anything.

We all go different places for different reasons, but we all do this don’t we?  It is true, maybe to a different level or degree depending on where we are going and why, but we do it.  Then that point comes where we say.  "I can’t wait to tell so and so about this".  Why is it that we can be on the most amazing trip and still think of home?  Because regardless of where we are home is where we have emotionally attached ourselves to.  You can be on the most exciting trip to the most exciting place you have ever been, but have you ever noticed that it isn’t complete somehow until you have gone home, sat in your home, reflected on the experience and then shared it with the people who are in your life.  That completes the trip because it connects it to the life you live everyday, it attaches it to the people and the place you are emotionally attached to.

All of our experiences in life are the same way.  When something exciting happens in our life, we want to share it with those closest to us to have someone to celebrate with.  When something not so good happens, we go to those closest to us to get support, help, encouragement, and sometimes just a shoulder to cry on.  The people we think of on those trips and say "I can’t wait to tell so and so about this!" are likely the same people who hear about all the other things in our life every day.  So here is a question-Who is that person in your life?

For every one of us there is someone who is waiting to hear about everything.  About our trips-yes.  About our experiences-yes.  Whether good bad indifferent-yes.  Even if we have bags we packed years ago in our life, and have carried around on this trip, we can unpack them, talk about them, even cry over them if we have to.  Every experience, every moment, He is waiting to listen.  It is just a matter of coming home and desiring to share it.  Even if you haven’t talked to Him in prayer for a while, He is still waiting because like those in your life who want to hear about your trip, He wants to hear about your life and all that is in it.  The Lord is always there, always listening, and always understanding. (Ps 139:7-12 , Heb 4:15-16 )  So, like coming home, go to the Lord in prayer, tell Him what has been happening, what you have been experiencing.  Celebrate with Him, receive the help strength and shelter you need from Him. (Heb 4:16 , Ps 18:31-33, Ps 91:1-2 )