Take time to rest and sharpen

“Come with me…to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Mk 6:31 NIV

A competition was held between two men to see who could chop down the most trees in a single day. One man was older and more experienced, while the other was younger and less experienced. And that’s where the difference showed up. The younger man spent eight hours chopping down trees, and at the end of the day he had a total of twenty-five. Believing the older man lacked stamina and youth, he sat down, fully confident he would win. Meanwhile the older man, who had taken a ten-minute break each hour, ended his day by chopping down forty trees. In shock the younger man asked, “How is this possible, old man? I didn’t stop. You stopped every hour for ten minutes and yet you chopped down almost twice as many trees as I did.” The older man replied, “Every hour I sat down for ten minutes and did two things. First, I took time to rest and recharge my batteries. Second, I took time to sharpen my axe. Yes, you were working hard but you were working with a dull axe.” There’s an important lesson here for you. In order to succeed at what God has called you to do in life, you must always do these two things: (1) Make time for rest and renewal. You cannot always be giving out; you must also stop and take in. That’s where prayer and Bible reading come in; they restore what life depletes. (2) Stay sharp. When your axe is dull it requires more energy and produces fewer results. So take time to rest and sharpen.

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