Daily Devotional June 25 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master, for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. 2 Kings 6:5-6 (a) As they were expanding their “dorm” in the school of ministry, one of the students found himself in a predicament. While he was doing the work of the ministry, the axe head he was using fell into the Jordan River. The axe head in this story is a symbol, a picture, of the cutting edge of power, of effectiveness. It speaks of the Holy Spirit. The only way we’ll ever build anything - be it ministry or marriage, families or friendships - is if we build in the power of the Holy Spirit. The psalmist declares that those who build apart from the Lord labor in vain (127:1). You can follow every principle of marriage, parenting, and ministry - and still fail if you are not doing it in the power of the Holy Ghost, for it is “‘not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord” (see Zechariah 4:6). It was borrowed. Always remember that. The power upon your life is not your own. If you begin to think that the effectiveness of your ministry or the success of your marriage is because of who you are, one day you will wake up like Samson and stand to do battle - only to find, as he did, that the Spirit of the Lord has departed (Judges 16:20). How did this man lose his axe head? He lost it in the process of service. He was trying to do what was right, but he became careless. You see, an axe head does not fall off suddenly. It becomes loose slowly. At this point, all the young man had was a wooden axe handle. Wood in the Scriptures is symbolic of the flesh (1 Corinthians 3:12). Here’s a young man, doing the work of the ministry, and suddenly, the power is gone, leaving him nothing but the wooden handle of the flesh. To his credit, he didn’t say, “So what if the axe head is gone? Who cares if the power has departed? I’ll just use this handle.” That would have been ridiculous. And yet what do we do? So often, the cutting edge is gone, the power lost, yet we keep on ministering even though the anointing is not there. This man said, “Alas, master.” That is always the first step to reclaiming the cutting edge. Open and honest confession that you’re not on the cutting edge like you once were is always the place where restoration begins. Elisha asked one question: “Where did you lose it?” To the church at Ephesus, Jesus said, “I know your good works, your knowledge, your giving. But I have something against you, for you have left your first love. Remember from whence you are fallen and repent. And do your first works again” (see Revelation 2:1-5). Was there a time when you loved the Lord radically, when you worshipped the Lord fervently, when you served the Lord consistently? Was there a time when you couldn’t wait to get in the Word, when you found witnessing something that was natural? Was there a time in your life when you were more in love with Jesus and more fervent in serving Him than you are today? If so, remember how it once was - and then repent. Say, “Lord, I admit to You, I confess before You that I’m not in the place I once was, in the place I long to be. And I repent.” Then do your first works again. What were you doing when you loved the Lord? Did you get up early to pray? Do it again. Did you open your house and share the Gospel with people? Do it again. Did you come consistently to Bible study and worship meetings? Do it again. It’s so simple. Just go back to the place where you lost your cutting edge. This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book A Day of Feasting by Pastor Jon. A Day of Feasting is a collection of 365 short devotions from the Old Testament books of Joshua through Malachi. If you would like your own copy of A Day of Feasting you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 23:49:09 +0000
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