And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation (the Scriptures) be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.” Joshua 1:8-9 Message Bible
There is a story told of a young, strong lumberjack who challenged a respected veteran lumberjack to a competition. The young man was trying to prove himself by believing he could cut down more trees in one day than his older counterpart. The contest was set for the next morning. The young man arrived relying on his own strength and stamina. The flag was dropped and the young man began swinging his ax through one tree and then another and another. As time went on he was sure he was winning because he noticed the older man taking several breaks and he wasn’t stopping for anything and as a result one tree fell after another. At days end the young man stood confidently awaiting the official count. Finally the moment had arrived and the young man stood there stunned to hear that the veteran lumberjack had felled one third more trees than him. Still in disbelief he conceded defeat, but he needed to know how the older man did it since he was so much older and took so many breaks. The veteran looked at him smiling said, all those breaks you thought I was taking, well I wasn’t resting I was sharpening my ax. See a sharpened ax makes for a lot less work and trees will fall faster.
Life is not easy, it has a way of wearing us down through crisis and circumstances that seem unfair and hurtful. We become disappointed, frustrated and worn down and we find it more and more difficult to deal with the everyday problems and troubles. To many of us try to go through life without sharpening our ax. We think we can go through the daily grind on our own power and strength only to find we’ve been busy but got less done than we wanted and now we’re exhausted. Maybe you feel you’ve lost your edge in life and you’ll never get it back, but taking a few minutes a day to meet with God will not only help you get your edge back, but maintain it. The best thing is that once we see what a difference it makes, we’ll want to spend more time with Him and before we know it our focus on life will changed. The day will no longer be a dull routine, but will be a chance for God to empower you, help you function in wisdom and discernment and just enjoy life even in the midst of trouble. Let today be the beginning of a new life and for God to help you do greater things than you’ve ever done before. Life is easier to cut through when your a is sharpened!
Leave a Reply