Stepping Stones: Don’t Become Firewood

Transformational Thought

In my younger days I enjoyed cutting and splitting my own firewood. I would whip that sledge, honing my baseball swing, splitting and stacking all summer, and then enjoy the warmth of the fireplace during the winter. If you’ve ever split wood, you know how important and effective the “wedge” is to maximize your effort.

The wedge is a heavy chunk of metal with a sharp edge on one end and a flat surface on the other. Green wood is very difficult to split. To separate the round log into more easily burnable pieces of wood, the wedge is a necessity. It is slowly pounded into the log with a sledgehammer, and as it goes in, it pushes the wood apart, separating the fibers … weakening them to the point of failure. The harder the wood the more times you have to hit the wedge.

You see, this is similar to the enemy’s single-minded focus … separating us from our Father. His swings of the hammer are like the neglect we feel as he uses a wedge of deceit. “See, no one cares. You’re on your own.” He uses a sudden hurt, betrayal, or loss of innocence to tell us, “See, this is a dangerous world, and you’re all alone. You’ve been abandoned.” He uses assaults and abuses to scream at us, “See, this is all you are good for. You’re a reject.”

By constantly striking the wedge he weakens us. The details are different and unique for each of us, but the effect is always the same … an injury to the soul, and with it, separation from our Father. It may sound dramatic, but it’s true … the enemy wants to split us from God and put us in the fire!

But God is not willing to simply let that be the end of the story … so here’s the good news. Remember what Jesus taught us about our Father’s heart in the parable of the lost son. Filled with compassion, our Father God will come like a loving Father, take the wedge out, and pull us as close to His heart as we’ll let Him. He’ll take us back to heal the injuries, and finish things that didn’t get finished. He will come for you, no matter how long you were away or how far from Him you feel. He makes you his dearly loved daughter or son.

Today, identify the wedge. What one lie or deception is Satan using to separate you from God’s love and abundant life today? When you feel uncomfortable, look at some of the data for that situation. Some of that data or your conclusions are false. That is Satan’s wedge. Replacing that with God’s truth will draw you closer to Him. Your decision, choose well.

Prayer
Dear Father God, My deepest desire is to trust You with my whole being. But this trust does not come easily for me, Father. I know that if I learn to trust You … really trust You … nothing can separate me from Your peace. I will endure the pounding of the wedge and will use each strike to train myself to trust You. I will ruin the enemy’s plan by growing in grace through the very adversity he uses to try and harm me. I pray in the name of the reason for my trust, Christ Jesus; and all God’s children say – AMEN!

The Truth
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him
Luke 15:20

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Ephesians 6:16