I remember when I was in elementary school, there was a very popular book called "Hatchet" from Gary Paulsen. It's been decades since I've read it – but, I still remember it quite vividly.

In the book, a teenage boy is setting out to visit his dad for the first time after his parents divorce. Just before getting on the small single-engine plane, his mom gives him a gift that turns out to be a hatchet.

As the story progresses, the pilot of the plane suffers a heart attack mid-flight and they crash-land in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. While the pilot of the plane doesn't survive the heart attack, the main character survives the crash. He is alone, in the middle of the wilderness, with no way of knowing where he is or how to survive.

As it would turn out – the hatchet that his mom gifted him just prior to him leaving, would become his savior. It becomes a tool of immeasurable value, as it provides him with protection, the ability to craft a shelter, and even the ability to create fire.

In my previous article, I talk a bit about how as Christians, we are living in a sinful, fallen world that is filled with pain, suffering, and grief. And I talk about how difficult it can sometimes be to navigate this sin-addled world, and how fleeting moments of joy can be.

While it is no less than we deserve to be left to suffer in this world that we ourselves contributed to its insufferable nature – God, in his grace and glory, stepped in.

And not only did he provide us with a hope for eternity – He also gave us a hatchet (a couple of hatchet's really) to help us survive in this cold and grief-filled land.

The tools God gave us are Prayer, Scripture, and the Church.

Whenever you hear the world "tool", it comes with certain implications.

A "tool" is an instrument that has a specific purpose, and can be used to make some task (or set of tasks) easier.

And with any tool, there is a proper way to wield it so that it has maximum impact, and there are any number of improper ways to use it.

Take a screwdriver as an example. A screwdriver is built for driving in screws, and it is excellent at doing that. If there is a screw that needs screwed in – a screwdriver is the right tool for the job. However – if you attempt to use it as a hammer, a saw, or a wrench, you are going to experience less than stellar results.

I think the same can be said for Scripture, Prayer and the Church.

Used properly, these tools, much like the hatchet in the story, will prove to have immeasurable value. Used improperly however, and you will never come to know them for the indispensable tools that they are.

Here in America, we have so much wealth, information, and tools at our disposal. And while in many ways, this is a blessing – in other ways, it is a curse.

Throughout the ages, we have countless accounts of Christians who have faced genuinely terrible persecution. Torture, imprisonment, and death are very common threads throughout Christian history.

As a modern Christian, it is terrifying and also sobering to imagine some of the horrors that Christians in generations past had to endure. And I will be the first to tell you – I don't know that I would have the strength to endure the torture that many Christians have withstood, and continue to face even today.

Here I am, with so much "stuff" at my disposal. I have technology, and knowledge, and money, and connections... and yet, I find myself significantly weaker than those Christians who have come before me.

But – the same tools that they had at their disposal: prayer, scripture, and the church, are still tools that we have available to us today. Which makes me wonder – how much more effective could my reading of scripture be? How much more impactful could my prayers be, if only I could learn to wield it properly?

It wasn't so long ago that I felt very differently about church than I do now. Just a few short years ago, Church, for me, was "optional". Based on the churches that I had "tried out", there was this lack of depth that always just left me wanting more. I couldn't shake this feeling like I was taking my faith more seriously than the pastors. The sermons were always lighthearted and breezy. Nothing super serious. Super PC. And as a result – they were easy to justify missing.

Fast forward to a little over a year ago, and we actually found what I consider to be a biblical church. We started attending, as a family. And in a very short amount of time, Church transformed into something that was easy to miss, to something that I couldn't see my life without. It has become a non-negotiable for me. Unless I am sick, or otherwise unable to attend, I find it to be not just "nice" – but "imperative" to my faith.

Before this, I never knew how a biblical church could be. If the "church" is a "tool" to help equip us with what we need to navigate through this life... until recently, it was a tool that I was using improperly.

Too often, as Christians, we tend to overlook things like scripture, prayer and church. Moreover, we tend to treat them as things we do FOR God, rather than things that God has given to us.

How many times, even in my own life, have I said "Ehhh, I should probably go to church – I haven't been there in a while." Or "ughhh, I'm not in the mood to pray... but I will, because I feel guilty." Or "ehhh – I'm too tired to read my Bible today. But, tomorrow, I'll read double!"

We treat these things as though we are doing God some favor by doing them. When we say things like "I guess I'll go to church, since I haven't been there in a couple of months", we might as well just say "I guess I should probably go and grace God with MY presence!"

Here's a bit of a news flash. God doesn't need your prayers. God doesn't need you to go to Church. God doesn't need you to read your Bible. There is nothing on this earth that we can do that makes any difference to God. God is who He has always been, and God doesn't change.

God gave us these things for US. He gave them as a gift for us to use, to help navigate this life. He knew it would be hard. He knew it would be filled with grief and injustice. He knew there would be things that hurt us, things that scare us, and things that bring us to our knees.

"Foolish and prideful" are the only words I can think of then, to describe the Christian who is suffering in this life, yet fails to utilize the tools that were given to him. Foolish is the Christian who is encountering grief, sorrow, depression, anxiety, fear, or any other emotion, yet doesn't use the tools that were given to combat them.

Prideful is the Christian who is going through anything at all, yet still feels that prayer, scripture and church are optional.

My friends – God has given us everything we need to navigate the woes of this world. But it's not just our responsibility to use what he has given. It is to our benefit! It is for our good!

If you find yourself suffering with a headache, you are to be pitied. If, however, you are suffering with a headache when there is a box of Tylenol (or Advil) right in front of you, and you opt not to use it... you are a fool.

My friends – this life doesn't have to be so filled with grief, and pain, and suffering. I'm not saying your life will be void of those things – but, if we choose to go through life without using the tools that God has given us to help us... who else can we blame but ourselves?