Keep Swinging Your Axe!

There is a woman that I watch on social media occasionally who loves to chop wood. She has various sizes of axes and her instagram account is all about her refining tree trunks into firewood. Don’t ask me why she feels why this is her life’s calling but she seems to love it. 

One short that she released was particularly funny because she tried and tried to crack a large log. It wouldn’t budge. It wouldn’t even chip, no matter how hard she swung her heavy axe. Of course, the point of the video was that it was difficult but eventually the wood broke and she was able to complete the task.

There is also a story In the Bible that is told about the last few days of Elisha. The King of Israel was at war with the King of Judah. The Israelites were not united. The King of Israel had an edge because he had Elisha, the prophet. One day the King approached the prophet to ask his advice. Elisha told him to pick up a bow and some arrows. He then told him to fire an arrow out the open window. “You will win against your enemies!” Elisha declared, then he told him to strike his arrows on the floor. The King then struck the floor three times with his arrows.

What happened next feels a little strange. The prophet became incredibly angry with him and declared that the king wouldn’t win the war! The prophet had expected the King to keep striking the floor until he was told to stop. Elisha then died a few days or weeks later.

The story in the Bible and the story about the woman striking the tree trunk aren’t at all linked but as I ponder life and the walk that Christians walk I wonder which direction you would take. We like to think that if God gives us an instruction that we would follow it and that we would see great success.

The problem arises when we start to swing our axe. We know that God has given us the victory. We know that the mountain should be thrown into the see. We know that God has said He would provide all our needs but when we set out to see the promised land and we release our faith the axe seems to bounce off of our problem. 

We hear the instruction to declare the Word but we say it three times then give up, look back to God and say, “There, I did it, why isn’t it done?”. We seem to have effort for the little but nothing that exceeds our natural strength or sight. 

God is a good God. He gives good gifts and He has provided us everything we need to succeed. We need to learn to put it all on the table. We need to push through every situation no matter what it seems like is happening. We need to keep swinging our axe. 

I think we need to realise this. God gave us the axe. God gave us the strength to swing the axe. God gave us the ability to sharper the axe. God’s Word is a sword on our lips. God’s weapons are spiritual and in our hearts to use against any enemy that comes our way. God is expecting us to keep striking the ground in front of us until He says stop or the obstruction has given way.

I challenge you today to, “Never give up and never quit.” You are chipping away at the problem with the Word and it is the Word that will break it open. The breakthrough you are believing for will manifest gloriously! God is watching you and He knows that as you keep declaring, keep speaking, keep working with His Word that the situation will change for your benefit. He is with you, empowering you and cheering you on. He loves you and He only has the best for you. Keep swinging the axe, the tree truck will split!