By: Denny Hook

Several years ago we did a complete remodel of our basement. I was in need of a new hammer because I broke the wood handle of my old one. Instead of buying another wood handle, I opted for one with a steel shank and rubber cushioned grip. We dubbed it the “singing hammer” because every time you struck a nail it would make kind of a singing noise. Sometime after finishing our remodeling I had to replace the hammer that I carry in my semi for work purposes. Instead of buying a new one, I just grabbed the singing hammer and threw it in my truck tool box. For years about all it was used for was to thump tires, hooking up product hoses, or an occasional beating on a locked up brake drum.

This winter I decided to insulate and sheet the inside of my garage. I had been using the wooden handled hammer that had broken years earlier. I had long since replaced the handle. I like this hammer for sentimental reasons as it was one of the few items I received from my Grandpa Hook. Unfortunately the wooden handle broke again in the middle of the job. I was about to go buy another handle or new hammer when I thought, ”Why not just go get the singing hammer and save the money.” There it was in my truck tool box. It had suffered years of abuse, but other than nicks and scratches, a greasy handle and a coat of rust, it was okay. At least it would help me finish the job. I took a wire brush in my drill and polished it up and cleaned the handle. It actually looked pretty decent considering all it’d been through, but I wondered, “Would it still “sing” after having been through so much neglect and harsh use?”

My son Kevin said I should get an air nail gun to make things go faster, but I’m old fashioned and like to hit the nail, besides, I need to exercise my eye/hand coordination. I didn’t chalk line the stud positions so I had a few hit and misses. Whack! Whack! Thud! Ring shank nails don’t pull out very well, so on the misses I just drove another nail about 1” one way or the other from it to catch the stud, and left it there. Whack! Ring! Sing! Sing! There it was, ever so faintly, but the old familiar singing was still there. Occasionally I had to double a stud with another 2×4 in order to come out on 4ft centers.(a little carpenter lingo) Hammering those spikes took more effort, but the increased resistance just made that hammer sing all the louder. It seemed to almost be singing – “This is what I was made for”. Have you ever had one of those “God moments” when you hear Him with your heart and you just stop and listen? I paused, and in that moment I knew what the Lord was saying. We were created with the ability to sing and worship God as an act of our own free will. Sin separated us from Him and we lost that pure song in the process. We became like that hammer in the tool box wasting away in the darkness of our sin.

I guess we all have times when we feel like that hammer shut up in the toolbox, wondering where God is and looking for a way out or someone to come and rescue us. On the other hand, I think a lot of people go through life hammering nails (so to speak), but never hitting anything solid. They try to find their fulfillment in possessions, relationships, money, fame, drugs, sex, jobs, education, church, hobbies and the list goes on. Their life song is just one “thud” after another and full of wasted nails.

Wait a minute, did I say church? I most certainly did! You see, as good as it is that we attend and participate in a local church on a regular basis, that in and of itself is not the solid ground that Jesus spoke about in Luke 6:46-49. Jesus was talking about himself as the only true solid foundation to build your life on, not anything else. I believe in being an active participant in a good Bible believing church, but if that alone is your life’s foundation, you’re missing it just like a nail that is so close yet still misses the stud. Let me put it this way; I was baptized as an infant, grew up in church, attended Sunday school, VBS, and was in every Christmas play. I was confirmed, took communion regularly, became a deacon and even helped serve communion. I knew when to stand, sit, sing, what to say, and when to be silent. I taught a Sunday school class, a beginner’s confirmation class, and volunteered for just about anything, but I was still missing the mark. Somehow I got the idea that because I was involved in all these great things; that they automatically translated into the solid foundation Jesus talked about, but they don’t!

How do I know that? I’m glad you asked. Let me take you back to Fresno, CA on September 29, 1983. I was doing long haul trucking then and was at the Texaco truck stop taking a break for the night, before heading up to Turlock to load in the morning. I was lonely, road weary, missing my family, and wondering if this was all there was to God; when a stranger asked me the most important question of my life. “What do you want out of life?” I admit that’s not the kind of question you get asked very often or even think about. I paused for a moment then answered, “I guess I want to go to Heaven when I die.” His response was quick; “If you died in a wreck tomorrow do you know for sure you would go to Heaven?” I replied, “I don’t think anyone really knows for sure, you just hope you are.” To that he asked, “Why should God let you into his Heaven?” Upon that I quite proudly recited all the things listed in the previous paragraph. He listened and then in all seriousness said; “None of that will get you into Heaven. You have to be born again like Jesus said in John 3:5.” Well, I was a bit taken back because nobody ever told me that before. To make a long story short I listened to him explain what being born again meant for the next several hours, as well as telling me what God had done for him. The guy was like a walking Bible and it almost seemed like Jesus himself was speaking to me. He gave me a little booklet to read published by an organization called Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International, which he was the president of the local chapter, and we parted company. Just in case you get the idea he was some kind of cult guy, he wasn’t. He had been an ex Catholic who actually had studied to be a priest. He quit that and became a California Highway Patrolman. God saved him just as he was about to commit suicide with his service revolver. He started attending an Assembly of God church afterwards.

The next day as I sat backed up to the dock at Armour Foods while they loaded my trailer with turkeys for Indiana and Michigan, I picked up the booklet and began to read it. All it contained were four short real life testimonials about how people had life changing encounters with the living God. I think it was about halfway through the third one that I realized these people had something I didn’t; a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I remember the moment so clearly. I closed my eyes and it was as if I saw Jesus standing on a hill and motioning with his arms to come to Him. He was saying, “Denny, you’re missing me. You have religion, but you’re missing me. Come to me now.” All I know is I was crying so hard I could barely say the short prayer they had in the book to ask Jesus into your heart and be the Lord of your life, but I did and He has been ever since.

Now back to the garage. I’m sure after hearing my story you understand the analogy. I was so close, yet still missed the stud with my life’s nails. All it took was to move my nail and hit something solid. So, this is my question to you: What are your nails hitting, and does your life sing or sound like a thud? Are you willing to move your nails in His direction? Perhaps you feel like the hammer in the tool box wasting away in the darkness, abused, neglected and forgotten; waiting to be rescued. Maybe you’ve been hurt so bad you’ve given up hope that things will ever change. I tell you, your savior Jesus, is coming for you. He knows where you are and has a purpose for your life. You will SING in His hand, because that is what you were made for!

King David suffered many things; some were because of his own wrong doings, others were a result of God’s call on his life, and the rest was just life that happens to everyone. Yet in the midst of all his problems he sang to the Lord. He is credited for having written most of the book of Psalms. One of my favorite stories is in 2 Chronicles 20. They were far outnumbered in battle, but God instructed them not to fear because the battle was His. King Jehoshaphat put the singers out in front of his army and when they began to sing and praise the Lord, the enemy was defeated and fled before them. In Acts 16:25-30 Paul and Silas were in prison. At midnight they began to sing to God, and He sent an earthquake to free them. That’ll preach!

Friend, there is power in singing to the Lord in worship, because it releases Him to move on your behalf. In this day and age it is so easy to put on a CD, turn on the radio, or go to a concert and listen while someone else does our singing for us. However, the singing I’m talking about comes from deep within your heart and exalts Him above all else. This is the singing that brings His presence into your situation. I can’t begin to tell you (in this post, maybe later) about the many times as a long haul truck driver I would just make up songs and sing them to the Lord as I was driving down the highway. They were just spontaneous and unrehearsed, but God did some awesome things for me. Maybe that’s what you need to do to see God move on your behalf. However, it may be you’ve never even taken the first step to invite him to have control of your life and ask for his forgiveness. The Bible says, “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” What are you waiting for? What do you want out of life?

Happy Hammering!