man had worked, all the trees he’d chopped down, and how his
cutting edge had been lost. It mattered that God’s presence and
the man’s loss occurred within close proximity to the other.
Satan would like to convince you that your lack of passion is
an indication that God was either never there at all or has
gotten disgusted with you and left. He wants you to believe
that God has not seen your struggle and is unaware or
disinterested in the details of your life. But just because you’re
feeling at a loss for words and “want-to”—just because your
“cutting edge” in prayer seems misplaced for now—does not
mean that God isn’t close by.
Number 2: The servant was doing something good when he
lost his cutting edge. He was being productive, building a new
dwelling for himself and for those others involved in the school
of the prophets (v. 2). In fact, if he hadn’t been working so hard
—if he’d just been sitting around doing nothing—there’s little
chance the ax would’ve ever become gradually loosened and
ultimately dislodged. This tells me that being engaged in good,
even godly, productive things is not an automatic guard
against losing your cutting edge. In fact, one of Satan’s dirtiest
little tactics is to sneak in and steal it while you’re square in the
middle of investing yourself in worthwhile activities. That’s