I received a lovely email about a
young man and an elderly man who decided to have a competition.
They wanted to see who was going to cut down the most trees in one
day. The young man was quite excited about this competition as he
was the stronger of the two by far. They started early in the
morning and the young man immediately started to cut down the trees
with his axe. The elderly man started as well, but after each hour
he rested for 15 minutes. The young man noticed it and laughed at
him that he needed to rest. But the old man didn't let that deter
him, he continued with this routine, he worked for an hour and
rested for 15 minutes. This continued throughout the day. And at
the end of the day, they each counted the number of trees they
chopped down, and to the young man's utter dismay the elderly man
won.
He couldn't understand it, he never
rested and this old man that did, won. The old man gently walked
over to the young man and said: "My dear child, every time I rested
I sharpened my axe again. And with a sharp axe you can continue so
much faster."
Isn't that so true of our lives? We
are living in a fast paced world, everything is getting faster and
quicker and more efficient. And somehow we need to 'run' in order
to keep up with it all. We never stop for a breather, because we
are afraid that if we do, we will get behind the rest, we will miss
out. We simply keep our heads down and continue to axe down the
trees in front of us.
But don't you think it will be a
good idea to stop once in a while and sharpen your axe? The devil
comes against us every day, trying to deter us from the path that
God has ordained. And if we do not stop and look up to God and His
Word on a daily basis, our axe will not be sharpened and our
struggle will continue. The 'trees' will take longer and longer to
cut down and our resolve will start to fade. And the only one left
smiling will be the devil. He wants to disarm you and when he gets
you to be too busy for God and His Word, you are left without your
daily bread, open game for the enemy.
No, make a conscious decision to
sharpen your axe on a daily basis. It gives one a sense of freedom
in knowing that you are on your way, following the Will of God for
your life, and that you will get there quicker than you would have
if you never stopped. Plus, isn't it much better to be inside the
Will of God for your life, than outside of it?
God wants you to take breathers now
and again and make time to see clearly where you are heading and
where He wants to lead you. He will give you a renewed vision every
time and help you on the best pathway for your life. He wants to
advise you and watch over you. He wants to sharpen your axe and
help you to reach your destination so much quicker, without detours
and thorn ridden pathways. Give over to Him. You are destined for
so much more.
Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, "I
will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise
you and watch over you."
Thank you Lord for watching over
us. Thank you that You grant us time to stop and look up to You to
see where You want to lead us. Thank you that Your Word is there to
help us. You know best. We love You. In Jesus' name. Amen