We need an ax man

Isaiah 10:15 Shall the ax boast over Him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?

I have been reviewing some resumes lately as we are looking for some additional creative support at blu. It is interesting when you read resumes, as everyone does their best to bring forth what they have accomplished in a way that strikes a perfect balance between more-than-capable and not-so-cocky. Its basically a polished way of saying, "look what I have done and what I can do for you". It's kind of the way we all think if we are honest. We all see the good we've done and the great asset we can be for our present or future employer, and the better asset we can prove ourselves the more dinero comes our way.

In Isaiah 10 above, God is talking directly to the king of Assyria. God has allowed him and propelled him to victory over many nations including Syria, Israel and Judah. (actually at this point he is prophesying through Isaiah that this will happen and of course it does later.) The victories that occurred under the King of Assyrias's headship, ultimately occurred under God's. The King of Assyria was only able to see his own power and greatness at work, and not God's. That would prove to be a deadly mistake as God would wipe Him and His kingdom out in righteous judgement of this prideful nation.

It is so easy for us reading this to say to ourselves," What an idiot that guy was, can't he see that God was there". We would be misleading ourselves if we are unable to translate this thread of learning into our own lives. Sin is hard at work trying to tempt us to take credit for what God has done in our lives. Sin wants us to be elevated as a great businessperson, parent, athlete, looker, friend, child, professional, church member, volunteer or anything else we throw our hat in the ring to do. We, just like the King, can convince ourselves that our success is ours and not God's. We can become deceived that the credit for our accomplishments is entirely ours, and not God's. God says to you and me, "that's like the ax saying 'look at the tree I cut down' to the axman who actually wielded the ax".

Think through God's sovereign orchestration and design in your life. The people we meet, the opportunities we get, the environment we were born in, simply being an American are God's doing, not ours. It is so tempting and status quote for us to assume wrongly that we are a great accomplisher of things and take the credit for God's hand at work. At the end of the day, taking credit for the work of God is a path of rebellion that we have all strolled down and we need to turn and walk back down the path of elevating Him and giving Him his due credit.

So consider this a call to all of the axes out there. Without a divine ax man wielding you, you are only capable of sitting in a tool closet collecting dust while talking about how sharp you are.