February 1, 2024 First, Sharpen Your Axe!
I had to spend some time sharpening my axe before I wrote this word. If you read it through, I believe it will bless you!
Sharp axes are effective but watch how you swing them!
“If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success” (Eccles. 10:10 NKJV).
First, Sharpen Your Axe!
One of my favorite Abraham Lincoln quotes is: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” In my early years, I spent countless hours swinging an axe, cutting down trees for haystacks, or chopping wood for our wood heaters and stove/oven. All our meals were prepared on a wood stove which also had an attached oven for baking.
Since I was 12 years old, I have had a scar on my lower right leg from a night when I was chopping wood on the woodpile behind our house on Springhill Farm in Enfield, N.C. I swung my sharp axe at a log and missed. Ouch!!! (There was no “oops” like the time when my mother-in-law was in the hospital and about to be taken into the operating room for a mastectomy. My wife picked up the medical chart attached to the bed and discovered that they had indicated the wrong breast for removal!)
The only medical attention we could afford for the injury I sustained that night was what could be provided at home. And since the wound could not be stitched at home, the wide gash in my tight youthful skin remained open. (A duller axe might have done less damage, but that does not support my premise).
Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, and Lincoln in the quote above, were saying essentially the same thing. To get the job done successfully, first, make the necessary preparations. Sharpening the axe is the time that should be spent in prayer before you go into an important meeting, or before you attempt to tackle and bring down the “trees,” the obstacles and structures the enemy has been raising on your job, in your community, or your home. Sharpening the axe may require communing with God in the wee hours of the morning while others are sleeping.
Swinging at Satan’s “trees” with a dull axe might make a dent, but you will be exhausted with little to show for it. Sharpen your axe before you preach a sermon, by praying fervently, fasting sincerely, and studying intensely. Sharpen your axe before you write a book (and while writing it) before you counsel someone, and before you post your wisdom on social media. Sharpening the axe may mean getting back to school or taking some essential courses, but it always means spending time at the feet of Christ. You can keep swinging with a dull axe until your strength is depleted, but the wisdom of sharpening the axe brings success!
Oh! Btw, when you swing that sharp axe, make sure you aim it at the right tree!