No Soft Swords

Expert smiths were masters at getting the steel or iron sword to just the right balance between weight, strength, flexibility, and sharpness. Too brittle, it would break. Too mailable, it would bend. Too dull and its handler would be fertilizer. 

One of the steps in the process is called tempering. In the tempering phase, a smith would reheat the blade to super-hot temperatures and look for black spots or imperfections. They would then hammer those spots, aligning the molecular structure of the blade and reshaping as needed. Then they would slowly cool the blade, reducing its brittleness. Repeating this process until they got it just right would result in:

Stress relief - removing internal tensions created during the forging process

Molecular alignment - engineering the proper flow of the molecules and bringing them closer together

Shape correction - removed any warping or oddities created during forging or use over time

Uniform properties - more evenly distribute the support and strength throughout the blade

Proper flexibility - balancing the hardness and malleability a weapon needed to effectively survive the battle in front of it

"I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them." (Zechariah 13:9)

God knew early on that people and teams needed to be brought through the tempering process if they were to survive the battles they would face. They had to be put through the fire a few times and get hammered a bit to remove the weak spots, misalignments, and stubborn rigidity. They need to experience getting super hot and then the proper cooling-off process to learn how to add strength, flexibility, and durability. Each time, they would be better at handling the stress and collisions of life.  

If you lead a team, put it through the tempering process a few times. Unrefined silver and gold won't buy you much, and untempered steel will fail when hit too hard.

Unrefined silver and gold won't buy you much, and untempered steel will fail when hit too hard.

If you find yourself in the fire getting beaten right now...good! Allow the Master Smith to work out a few soft spots, align you with Him, eliminate your brittleness, and shape you into something useful for the battle you will face tomorrow. Nobody wants to fight with a soft sword.