Scripture:
Ecclesiastes 10:10; 11:10; Psalm 94: 18 & 19 & Ephesians 5: 15 & 16
If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body… When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (NIV)
Observation:
As I read today’s scriptures, it was apparent to me that there was a consistent thread running through them all. When the ax is dull it simply takes more work to bring about the same result. This is true of the gifts and talents that God has provided for us. When they become dull due to anxiety and weariness it creates trouble to our heart and to our bodies – it wears us out and we loose the capacity to deeply engage in our best gifts and utilize them with excellence. When we become weak and worn not only is more work required and we may have a tendency to slip. It is essential to know that God’s love that supports us and His heart that we not become dull and filled with anxiety. It is as if the Apostle Paul were reading today’s verses. He speaks with clear warning: Be careful how you live – don’t be unwise and miss opportunities that could be used for God.
Application:
Anxiety is a contributing factor to our dullness and a loss of joy. This causes us to easily miss opportunities that could advance God’s Kingdom. Due to dullness some of our sharpest gifts take more effort to use or may not get used at all. I must be able to have “sharpening times” with God, His word, time with family, close and dear friends, people with whom, just their look and smile, bring a shaper sense to my life. I must also spend time being sharpened. As a tool is sharpened, it is removed from its task and intended purpose and brought to a place where it can be sharpened. The key is: it must be removed from the place of work. Rick Warren once said, we should “divert daily, withdraw weekly and abandon annually.” This is something I must do a better job at along with the admonition to give my anxiety to the Lord – to “banish” it from my heart. Like a Survivor contestant being “banished” from the island or wilderness, I must “banish” anxiety from my heart. I must remove myself from my work in order to become sharper when I reengage and discover the tools I have work so much better now and my gifts are being used with much less effort.
Prayer:
Lord God, the one who sharpens my life, there are so many lessons from today’s reading. I could literally write about them for pages. But instead, I ask you for the courage and the wisdom I need to remove myself from the task and step away with you to be sharpened. I don’t simply seek time off, but time in which I consistently consider your will and way and your best for me. Sharpen me God so I might be effective for you. Take the anxiety off my heart as I lay it down at your feet. May I live for Your glory and for Your Kingdom and for Your Name. Amen.
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