1 Samuel 13:22 (NKJV)
“So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.”

There is an urgency we need to deal with. One of the most strategic ministries in the Body of Christ today is that of the Blacksmith. We must stop rejoicing in the numbers of people in our churches, but rather, begin to ask the hard question: how many of them are ready for spiritual battle? We need to know how many are equipped for the spiritual contests of the last days.

I sorrow that the multitudes are still chasing after superficial things. Too many people still see church as a place to meet their needs, and flock around men of God for spiritual crumbs when they can approach the throne of God themselves. Too many are living on the edge of God’s divine best for their lives. Their dreams are so limited.

God has so much He wants to give His people and to do through His people, but there is a lack of spiritual hunger and spiritual vision. Without hunger and vision, there will be no progress in the direction of God’s best. People usually settle for less than what could be, simply because they are satisfied too early; satisfied with less than could be possible.

In the context of today’s verse, I kept asking myself this question: how could the entire nation accept that only Saul and Jonathan had swords? Even if their leaders did not get them swords, was there no man in the land who could have sought to change the status quo? What kind of complacency was that?

And the same is true today. Too many people are too complacent in today’s church. Too many are satisfied with trickles of miracles, and don’t appreciate the stark realities of today’s spiritual battles. But that needs to change. We live in an age when the beast has been released and God’s people need to wake up. You need to wake them up.

You cannot be complacent. You must press in to equip yourself on a daily basis. But most importantly, we commission you to become blacksmiths that equip others. This is one of the church’s greatest needs today. There is an urgency that cannot be left unattended to. Arise dear blacksmith; Arise. Arise and empower God’s people, for the time has come.