Grosey's Messages

What do you do when you are growing spiritually cold? What do you do when your become spiritual passion becomes dry? What do you do when you lose your cutting edge? How do you recognize these inevitable times? More importantly, what can you do to overcome them? Let me answer these questions with a devotional thought from 2 Kings 6:1-7.

 

The "sons of the prophets," a group of young preachers, studied under the Prophet Elisha. So many lads joined this upstart seminary that they ran out of space. The dorms were overcrowded. But these young men did not allow their space problems to make them slothful, negligent, or distracted from their goal to learn and grow. Instead, they devised a plan to build new living quarters that would accommodate the growing student body. With Elisha's permission, and encouraging presence, the sons of the prophets went into the woods and began chopping down wood to build a new dorm. Can you see them? The wooded area is filled with hardworking young men. They have borrowed tools and are making good use of them. Axes are swinging ferociously. One by one, trees are falling to the enthusiastic cheers of all.

 

But notice one particular young prophet. He has borrowed an axe to do his part in the building project. He is attacking a tree with all his might. But after one powerful swing, the shaft suddenly goes light in his hands. The force almost knocks him down. He looks up just in time to see his axe head splash into the nearby river. He lost his cutting edge. He lost his power element. He lost the thing that made him effective.

 

This can happen to any of us. It has surely happened to me at times. There have been seasons when I been so spiritual dry that I could spit dust. And it can happen to you. Do not scoff or judge or dismiss this reality if it hasn't happened to you yet. Thank God for his sustaining grace. Remain humble, prayerful, and watchful. And memorize 1 Corinthians 10:12: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall."

 

Here are five suggestions for recovering your cutting edge. 

 

Practice regular self-evaluation.

 

Why did this young man lose his cutting edge? The most obvious reason I can give is that he lost the axe head because of negligence. The axe head did not just fly off the handle all at once. It never does. The tool had been loosening over time. But he was so busy swinging that he never noticed. That's how life is. A flat is rarely the result of a sudden blowout. There has often been a nail in the tire for some time. Little tacks can cause tragic accidents, if you let them go unnoticed. So practice regular self-evaluation to ensure your communion with God is strong, growing, and evident. You may not have to recover your axe head if you simply maintain it properly.

 

 

This young man may have lost his axe head because of negligent behavior. Yet he is still to be commended for the fact that when this young lost his cutting edge, he stopped swinging. Can you imagine how silly he would have looked if he kept swinging the shaft after the axe head ejected? To continue swinging would not have helped the project whatsoever. Instead of chopping wood, he would have only been banging on the wood. Swinging the handle without a handle, he would have only been making noise, wasting time, and loosing energy without accomplishing anything. So he stopped swinging. So should you. If you sense that you have lost your cutting edge, take a break. Get some rest. Take time to pray and read and think. Reconnect with God, the scripture, your family, your purpose, and yourself. For God's sake, please stop swinging! If you have lost your axe head, you are only getting in the way of the real work. 

 

 

When this young prophet lost his axe head, he did not nonchalantly whisper, "Oh well." He cried out, "Alas, my master! It was borrowed" (2 King 6:5). The young man was devastated. He did not simple ask for another tool to keep working. He lamented the loss of the axe head, because it did not belong to him. It was borrowed. The owner permitted him to use the axe head. But it was to be returned when the work was finished. The young man would have to answer to the owner for the lost axe head. Likewise, your gifts, talents, position, relationships, and opportunities are not yours. For that matter, you do not belong to you! You have been bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Let me state the essence of Christian stewardship in four words: God owns it all! You are only a steward of that which belongs to another. And you will have to answer to the Lord of all that he has entrusted you to manage. 

 

 

The lamentation of the young man was also a cry for help. "Alas, my master!" he said to Elisha. "It was borrowed" (2 Kings 6:5). There was nothing he could do about the situation on his own. He needed help. I am not sure what he expected Elisha to do about the missing axe head. He surely could not have imagined that Elisha would perform a miracle to retrieve it. But he recognized he needed help. So do you. You cannot recover your cutting edge on your own. Call on the Lord in prayer to renew your spiritual passion. Ask him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Likewise, call on those the Lord has placed in your life for fellowship, encouragement, and accountability. Don't be too proud to ask for help. 

 

Examine yourself.

 

Elisha responded to the young man's cry for help with a question, "Where did it fall?" (2 Kings 6:6) This question required the young man to look back, retrace his steps, and think about his situation. Pointing to a ripple in the water, he answered, "It fell somewhere around there." Indeed, the unexamined life is rarely effective. Take the time and trouble to examine yourself. "If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength," wrote Solomon, "But wisdom helps one to succeed" (Ecclesiastes 10:10).

 

The provocative story ends with a miracle. When the young man showed Elisha the place where the axe head fell, the prophet threw a stick into the water. And the axe head began to float. Yes, the iron axe head began to swim. God sovereignly and graciously intervened to restore what was lost. He can do that for you, too, when you find you lose your cutting edge.