We all go through those difficult times at various points in our lives where we may question what we’ve done wrong, why we deserve this treatment, maybe even, why aren’t we receiving God’s promised blessings?  

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There could be many answers, but all of them involve God’s ultimate, defining love for us.  Sometimes, perhaps we are just impatient, especially in our immediate gratification society. As difficult as it may be to accept, often we have to learn something or become what God wants us to be in order to receive that which we truly need. 

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Max Lucado, in his book “On the Anvil” refers to this process as “Anvil Time”. It is a time when we must go lay on God’s Anvil and be hammered into shape a bit, to become the tool  God can use for His purposes. Even Jesus, when asking if this cup couldn’t be taken from him, prayed to God and told him, “Thy will not mine be done.” (Luke 22:42) So, it is with us as well. Time on God’s Anvil clarifies for us our true meaning in life. It doesn’t come easily or without discomfort. After all, God is melting down the old parts of us; “removing scars,  repairing cracks, refilling voids, and purging impurities.” This is a disruptive and sometimes life-altering process! But, we come out on the other side of this process recast and have thus become an unbending, useful tool. Think about one time you went through something difficult and painful. Didn’t you eventually come out of it realizing you were on the other side of something trying and emotionally life-changing, and see how much stronger, more confident, compassionate, and understanding you had become as a person? Weren’t you better for what you had learned?  

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Therefore, we need to thank God for our struggles. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks  in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God uses our struggles to bring and keep us close to Him. When do we pray the most solemnly? When we are confused, sad, or don’t know what to do and need help. God wants to hear from us, be there for us, but we have to invite Him.  

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Praying with a focus on gratitude and thankfulness shifts our focus from what we believe we are lacking to the abundance God provides in any area of our lives. It deepens our relationship with God because it proves our faith in Him, that we know and trust that He will provide for us. Knowing, believing, and having faith, grant us that which we need. When we start out with “faith the size of a mustard seed”, we may feel fragile in our trust, but with each understanding that God is providing and caring for us, that faith grows into a deep and unalterable knowing. Philippians 4:6-8 tells us, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts  and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Later in verse 19 we are told, “And my God will fully satisfy  every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” 

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God does fulfill our needs…always! It may not be how we are expecting to see it, or when we think it should happen, but He does hear us and provides for our needs. For example, think of Garth Brooks’ song, “Unanswered Prayers”. Sometimes, in not answering our prayers, we are given an even greater blessing.  

 

“Sometimes, I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember, when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs, that just because he doesn’t answer, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care, some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” 
 

We should all be thankful, maybe most especially for these answers, because God knows better than we do. God knows the consequences of what we are asking, and He, in His wisdom, protects, guides, and nurtures us. And, when we look back on a time in our lives that we thought we needed something, we come to see how God answered that prayer, and that His answer was even better than what we had asked for. 2 Peter reminds us that “the  Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,” until we become what we need to be to receive His blessing. (2 Peter 3:9). 

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So, although your time on the anvil may be painful and confusing, know that goodness awaits you on the other side, and give thanks to God, now and always, in all things.