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2 Kings 6:5-7… 5) But
as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out
and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.” 6)
So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him
the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.
7) Therefore he said, “Pick
it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
I know early in my walk with Christ, I use to think that God was really not all that
concerned with the little things I go through on a daily basis. I figured He was more
concerned with the bigger picture then those little mundane problems that when I go
through them, may seem like big annoying problems, but certainly are not something to
bother God with.
Well, I chose this verse to write about to help people understand that God is concerned
with those mundane things if we are concerned with them. And if you are walking in God’s
will, He will get involved and help us with those things.
In the New King James Version of the Bible, there is a heading at the beginning of this
story involving Elisha, and it reads, “The Floating Ax
Head.” It’s a brief story and one that doesn’t seem to have much
relevance to the Word of God.
But, recently I read this story and thought to myself that this is a powerful testament
of God being concerned with even the small things in our lives. It suddenly made sense
why God would inspire this story to be in the Bible.
The story begins in 2 Kings 6:1, where men faithful to Elisha come to him and request that
they go to the Jordan to build dwellings for themselves because in staying with Elisha,
there is just not enough room.
Elisha in return agrees and tells the men to go and do as you asked. The men ask Elisha
to come with them as they build and Elisha agrees.
Now, while cutting up some trees for lumber to build with, we read in verse 5,
“But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water;
and he cried out and said, ‘Alas, master! For it was borrowed.’” Now, this
is like one of those mundane things that may happen to you or me in the coarse of our day that may be a
big deal for us, but in the big picture is really no big deal; it’s just an ax head! Oh sure, it was
a borrowed ax, but even the owner will eventually get over it.
But Elisha, realizing this is really no big deal, showed compassion for this man’s concern
over this borrowed ax and in verse 6, asks the man, “where did it fall?” When the man
showed him, Elisha dropped a stick in the water where the man pointed and the ax head
floated to the top for the man to retrieve.
Elisha reminds me of a father whose child is crying because a toy just broke. Now, the
father knows that the child has many more toys, and he will forget that toy five minutes
from now, because he will find another toy to play with, but compassion takes over.
If you are reading this and you are not a mother or father, you may not be able to relate to my
comparison here, but in a situation such as this, that is really no big deal, a father will feel
in his heart the hurt that the child is feeling, even though it will just be a brief hurt, and he
will do whatever it takes to fix the toy for his child.
But with God, just as it was with the father, He knows that this trivial situation will be
forgotten in no time at all, yet, He showed compassion for the man and supernaturally
interceded.
As we go through our day and situations arise that are concerns for us, but we realize that
in the big picture they may be only small details, we should never feel that we cannot
approach God in prayer to help us through them.
As we see in this short story, which at one time I wondered why something so trivial was
in the Bible, I now see the significance of. If we are walking in God’s will, and we come
upon something that is a concern for us, no matter how small it may seem in the big picture,
God will be a father to us and be there to hear our prayer.
The important principle that comes to light is this, “Are you walking in God’s will for your life?”
If you are not sure what that will is, you can read my study,
“God’s Will for Your Life.”
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