One of my all time favorite comic book super heroes is Thor, the "god of Thunder". The myths about him are just that... Myths. He's the Son of Zeus (the top god). Brother of Loki (a half god turned to evil). None of these mythical gods are real, although some Norsemen might disagree. However, they do ring true in their tales of good versus evil. A son of a god battling against an evil fallen foe.
Thor uses his hammer, Mjolnir, as a weapon against his enemy. Mjolnir is capable of controlling the weather, gives Thor the ability to fly and can cast objects into outer space. These are a few of the hammer's abilities when wielded by Thor. He flies into the conflict, swings his hammer, defeats the enemy and saves the day. All in all, he has a pretty fearsome hammer and a lot of superhero swag. Plus, for the ladies, he is a super 'hunk'.
In reality, there are all types of hammers besides Mjolnir: carpenter hammers drive nails and break objects, sledgehammers are large and can apply a lot of force because of their size and weight. They are used a lot in demolition. There are rock picks used by geologists to split rocks open. Who knows what might be inside? Fossils, gemstones? A judge uses a gavel to call his court to order and to enforce the power & authority of the court. Splitting mauls are used to split wood. These were also called "Godevil" at one time. Then there is the stonemason's hammer which is used to chip off edges and small pieces of stone.
Whew! That's a lot of hammers and it doesn't even begin to list all the different kinds.
Several years ago I drove to Galveston to spend some time on the beach with God. It was a painful time in my life. I needed a retreat.
My beach was deserted on this New Year's Eve sunrise and I was alone with the sand and ocean and the wind. Alone with God. I walked at the edge of the world and talked with the God who reigns over all.
My beach was wet and the sand was packed. It was bare of anything except for a few small pebbly seashells and one lonely rock. I noticed the rock because it was the only one on the entire beach for as far as I could see. It was a little larger than my fist. As I picked it up, I noticed that it was black and shaped like a human heart.. not the fluffy cupid valentine hearts but like a real human heart.
I held it in my hands for a while thinking about my life, my relationship with God, and the emotional condition of my own heart, which had become as black and as hard as that rock.
What does all this have to do with Thor and his war hammer? Nothing really.. except this verse in Jeremiah made me think of him and then of that day on the beach when God began to apply His hammer of love to my hardened heart.... my heart that already felt as though it had been cleaved in half by a "Godevil" splitting maul.
Does not my word burn like fire?" says the LORD. "Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)
No, my Father did not send a super hero like Thor to save the day and destroy the evil in my life. He sent His word. His Word in the flesh. His Son. Jesus.
Again, LISTEN to what the One and only God says.. "my WORD is like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces".
His Word alone can burn up the world and smash mountains and rocks into slivers of dust. With a word He creates, and with a word He can destroy.
Mythical Thor and his war hammer pale in comparison to the God of all creation and the world making... knee buckling... heart rending... terrifying hammer of His Word.
With the same word that He speaks creation or destruction, He speaks love for his children. That mighty hammer of His burns like a fire in our spirit and is like a sledgehammer that crushes the stone that our hardened hearts have become.
He will use any circumstance or any part of His creation to mold us and make us into the person that He intends for us to be. He will allow pain, heartache, sickness, death, and destruction in our lives in order to bring us to the place where we acknowledge Him and His authority over us.
He will plead with you to turn away from sin and run to Him. That is the best option.
But..If our hearts are hardened against Him, He will bring His hammer down. If He was willing to almost completely crush His chosen people of Israel for turning from Him, do you think that He will be any more lenient to His blood bought children?
Maybe you haven't turned from Him, but your heart has become like stone due to grief, bitterness, pain.
It doesn't matter. He does not want His children to be held captive by either emotion or disobedience. He is a jealous and vengeful guard over His children and He will do whatever it takes (no matter how difficult and painful for Him and for us). Would you not do the same for your own child?
He knows all about tough love.
He rights the wrongs in our lives and does battle against evil. He doesn't need a super hero to do it for Him.
The initial crushing hammer blow is not the end. Once the rock is cracked and broken, He begins to chisel away at the details, shaping and forming what was once hard, harsh and craggy into something smooth and pliable. Something that can receive His design and be made useful. He not so gently sculpts it into beauty.
If you feel like you are being hammered, maybe God is trying to get your attention. Talk with Him, turn to Him. Be glad that He loves you so much that He can not leave you in your broken condition. Let Him do His work.
It can be a painful process. The end result is worth every blow.
I am glad that God has a well stocked arsenal. It lets me know that He loves me and that He will do what it takes to change my heart and spirit and bring me close to Him... even if it takes some hammering away at my heart. It also lets me know that He is willing and ready to go to battle for me or for any of His children.
He is the only super hero I need.
