I read this out of my morning devotional, and it hit home.
“In some parts of the country there are Lumberjack competitions where the biggest and strongest compete by chopping down trees and sawing through thick logs. In one such competition, there was a match between a young, strong ax man and an older, slimmer one.
By the end of the day of competition, the old man had cut down double the amount of trees that the young man had cut down. Frustrated, the younger ax man finally confronted the older and said ‘I don’t understand. I never stopped swinging. I never stopped. You know, I never stopped cutting down trees and yet you took two breaks every hour. How could you cut down more trees?’ The older man, with humble eyes and a kind reply said ‘Every time I stopped, I sharpened my axe.”
You and I can chop until we’re blue in the face, but if our axe has lost its edge, it won’t matter.
I feel like I spent much of 2019 swinging and swinging and swinging … but with a dull axe. How about you?
Praising God that He is always willing to “resharpen our edge” … strengthening us by His Spirit and sharpening us by His Word to make us productive again.
“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come.” (Isaiah 35:3-4)
How can I pray for you today?
