Daily devotion – sharpened
Pro 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
For over 15 years I worked for the Commonwealth – Department of Primary Industry. In that time I had to carry out inspections of animals continually both anti-mortem and post mortem. This required my having a razor sharp knife with a precision made sharpening implement called a ‘steel’. This was hardened steel that after the knife had been ground on a sharpening wheel, then a sharpening stone, the final honing of the edge was done by carefully rubbing the edge of the knife on the steel. It needed to be like a razor, sharp enough to shave the hairs off your arm.
Why all this you ask? Daniel and his three fellow Jewish teenage boys, lived on the edge very much so in their days in Babylon. Their lives faced death threats constantly, particularly as they would not compromise their faith in God for the false idols and ways of Babylon.
Dan 2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
I think God allows such things to keep our faith sharp and growing. Pastor Chuck Smith, at a Calvary Pastors Conference when he and his wife were in their late 70’s said , “That the past year had been one of the most difficult. How we often think that as we get older things will get easier in the ministry, not so!”
One of the major problems of the Church in Australia, Western Australia today is we have lost our ‘edge’. We have a life that is easy in most ways compared to so many others and our problems are very first world. Not like Daniel and his friends who were living daily persecution and violence purely because of their faith.
Whilst we don’t like the hard rubbing of difficult things against our days, it is the very way often that God is keeping you sharp – that difficult boss, the hard teacher, the nagging physical problems.
A dull knife is useless and makes all tasks much more difficult to complete. But when the knife is like a razor after it has especially been honed against the hardness of a ‘steel’ the work can be carried out with precision and accuracy.
This week, when you are finding things uphill, it’s the Lord calling you to be in His Word more, it’s the Lord allowing such things to come your way to drive you to prayer. So that when you have read His Word, been in prayer with Him, you will rise up ‘sharp’ and ready for ministry.
You’re now ready to carry out the task He has for you.