The story is told of two lumberjacks who challenged each other to see which one could cut down more trees in a day. At daybreak the first lumberjack began furiously chopping down trees. By noon he had cut down 16 trees. Meanwhile the second lumberjack spent his first two hours sharpening his axe before going to work. By noon he had only cut down 4 trees.
 
However by early afternoon it was taking the first lumberjack up to one hour to cut down one tree while his opponent was picking up speed and cutting through the trees as a hot knife going through butter! At the end of the day the second lumberjack had cut down more than double the number of trees than his opponent!
 
What is the lesson here? We cannot rely on our ceaseless activities and our own strength to do anything long term for God.  When we rely on ourselves, we soon become spiritually, emotionally and mentally dull and cannot do much!
 
Are you taking the time to sharpen your axe? Sharpening your axe means taking time to be with God first and taking directives from Him before embarking on any endeavor or mission. It means taking time to rest and get rejuvenated in His word constantly as you engage the devil in warfare. It means spending time with God daily no matter how rushed you might be!
 
When we take time to sharpen our axe, His strength is made available to us and we are amazed at how much we can do for Him.