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“The Anvil: There Is Power in Your Surrender”God’s power is coming upon you, as you surrender to Him. I believe God is bringing peace to those who have unresolved situations. It may have seemed, lately, as though you have been in a fiery trial, but you are about to see His hand at work; His power is coming upon you! And what He has designed all along will come into view.
A “Sign Moment”
“‘Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.’ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.” (Jeremiah 18:2-3, NKJV)
One day, my husband Malcolm and I were in the countryside ministering. We had a short lunch break, so I said to Malcolm, “Let’s pay a quick visit to the Murray River!”
It had seemed to be a spontaneous idea—a whim—but we walked into a “sign moment.”
That’s when we entered the blacksmith’s shop in the historic Port of Echuca. I stopped in front of an anvil and caught my breath, amazed…for it was the very one I had seen in a prophetic vision a week earlier!
An anvil is a heavy, iron block. It’s designed so that metal can be hammered and shaped on it.
We watched as the blacksmith took a metal rod and laid it in the fire until it was glowing and pliable. It was ready to be placed on the anvil, where it could be hammered into shape.
The Cost of Revival
Now, to be honest, I was listening to the blacksmith chatting—but my mind was elsewhere…back one week earlier, standing in our home church.It was Sunday, the week before, and Pastor Russell Evans had just finished preaching on “The Cost of Revival.” (Photo via Piqsels)
As we returned to worship, I found myself in a vivid encounter with the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, a blacksmith’s anvil appeared directly in front of me! This was a prophetic vision. And in this vision, I wasn’t standing; my whole body was draped over that anvil in a posture of complete surrender.
I knew at that moment, through the vision of the anvil, that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me concerning what I’d just heard about the “Cost of Revival,” but I never anticipated standing in front of an actual anvil a week later!
There Is Power in Your Surrender
We often pray, “Lord, come move. Come visit us. Have Your way. Bring revival!” But sometimes, the very outcome we are praying for calls for a personal response, and I believe for all of us right now, God is saying, “Beloved, you are a part of My answer.”
Being “on the anvil” speaks of an attitude of surrender, of holding nothing back from God. Even as I’m writing about this, the example of Samuel is coming to mind.
Samuel Took Time Out
The prophet Samuel anointed Saul as king of Israel, but early into his reign, King Saul failed.
It was a tough experience for a prophet to go through. Everything Samuel invested into Saul was lost because of the new king’s weakness of character; and worse still, Saul was acting in blatant rebellion against God. After pronouncing God’s judgment on Saul, Samuel stepped out of public life for a while, grieving and disappointed.
In that season, the prophet was struggling with the loss of a vision; but there was hope, for God knew what was up ahead.
The Blacksmith Has a Vision
That day, as Malcolm and I stood in the blacksmith’s shop, we saw only a plain, metal rod in the fire…but the blacksmith saw a finished article. He had a vision in mind; it was one of his own designs! Likewise, Samuel may have been through a fire, but he was on God’s anvil, and God had a plan!
Finally, there came a day when God spoke to the prophet again:
“Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go…'” (1 Samuel 16:1)
It was time to anoint David.
God Is Working in Your Unresolved Situations
For some of you reading this, the “anvil” has a particular meaning. God wants you to know that He is working in those unresolved situations. You’ve been in the fire and you don’t know the purpose for it; you don’t have all the answers. You may relate to the story of Samuel, and perhaps there are “loose ends.” Your situation, whether it is recent or in the past, is not clear-cut. (Photo via Piqsels)There Is Power in Your Surrender
In the anvil is a message from your loving, heavenly Father; you realize that the point is surrender! He wants you to surrender, even before you understand. He wants you to say, “Lord, even if I never understand why this happened, I choose to yield to You.”
Sometimes, being “on the anvil” means you are not available to something else for a season. There is a cost, but there is power in your trust!
God Is Giving You Strength Through Trust
It is trust that will keep you on God’s anvil. Yes, your trust in people may have been damaged along the way, but you can receive a new trust. For trust in God is not a feeling; it is a position, a choice, and a gift!
The enemy has sought to rob from many the gift of trust by trying to get them to attach conditions to it, such as, “God, if I see this, or if You do this, I’ll trust You.” Or, “If I feel trust, I will know I have it.” But this trust—the trust that keeps you on God’s anvil—is in a Person. You can trust Jesus, the One who laid His life down for you.
Out of the Fire
The anvil is your “yes” to God and being “in the fire” speaks of two things:
1) You may have been through a recent trial and can relate to “feeling the heat.”
2) God is inviting you into the fire of His presence.
Here, in His glory, He is purifying and preparing you. And right here on the anvil—as you lay vulnerable but ready—is where revival begins.
“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined…We went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” (Psalm 66:10, 12, NKJV)
Helen Calder
Enliven Ministries
Email: helen@enlivenpublishing.com
Website: http://www.enlivenpublishing.comHelen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries, in the David McCracken Ministries family. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in the areas of prophetic ministry, discernment and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog, an online prophetic training and mentoring resource that reaches thousands of people globally. Helen and Malcolm have been married for 37 years and are at home in Planetshakers Church, Melbourne, Australia.
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