If a person tried to build or repair something without the proper tools, it would not take long until he became tired and gave up in frustration. In this passage a group of men were building a place to live and cutting trees for lumber. As one of them was chopping, the ax head flew off the handle and fell into deep water. He could have gone on and beat the tree with the handle alone, but his time would have been futile without the ax head to do the work. A sharp ax is what is needed to chop down a tree.

Staying sharp in athletics comes from training, following our coach’s instructions, and a lot of practice. The same is true in our walk with the Lord. Without being in front of Him daily in prayer, getting into His Word, and being in fellowship with other believers, we can get dull or even become a worthless tool. As much as we may want to serve God, without Him active in our lives all we do will be futile—just like hitting a tree with a stick instead of an ax head.