Lesson from a floating axehead

2 Kings 6
An Axhead Floats
1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live." And he said, "Go."
3 Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!"
6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it."

A short episode here from Elisha's life, I learnt some lessons here on how to tackle life's problems.

1. No matter what the weight of the problem, it will float when surrendered to God-Have you ever caught yourself, worrying about life sometimes, and it weighs us down. As I was reading this passage, God showed me that the weight of the axehead didn't matter. Elisha wasn't wondering what to do when that man cried out. He didn't even try diving into the problem or jumping into the waters. He just threw a stick at it!!! And the axehead floated. What is impossible for man, is possible with God. I don't know how many times I would need to hear that.
2. Know where it went wrong/down and start your work there-It doesn't make sense to search for something in the house when you know it got lost in the streets. Elisha asks this man ""Where did it fall?" It is more than likely that YOU yourself will know what went wrong and where. Thats where we start working from. For e.g. if I have an overweight problem, I don't beat up the person who sold me the burger or fries. I acknowledge where the weakness lies and work at it, right there. Not around the bush.
3. God sends in the solution-Like Elisha, cut the stick and threw it into the water where the axehead had fallen, God also sends in the solution. When Abraham went upto the mountains to sacrifice Isaac, God saw his obedience, and his solution was sent there, the ram. When Moses was telling God how weak he was in speech, Aaron was already on his way to meet him. When the widow and her son had only enough bread and oil left, Elijah was already on his way to meet them. There are more examples like so, if we read through the Word of God. Once we know where we should start work, God already has sent his solution.
4. It is for us to "Lift it out"-It is for us to take action and come out of the problem, the final work is ours. God has already done His work on your situation, now it is upto us to come out. God sent Aaron, it was upto Moses to get to work from then. He had no excuses left to run away from the work God had planned for him. When Abraham saw the ram it was upto him to untangle the ram and make the sacrifice. When Elijah asked the woman to make bread for him first, it was then left to her to take that step and see God's miracle of provision.

Conclusion-No matter how heavy the problem in our lives may seem, God has already sent the provision/solution for it. Its only upto us to identify where the problem is and what we must do in obedience. If Moses hadn't gone to the burning bush, he wouldn't have ever come out of the guilt of murdering an Egyptian. If Abraham had feared sacrificing his son, he would have never seen God's provision of the ram. If the woman had not dared to make bread for Elijah from what was only for she and her son, she would not have seen God's provision.

Dear Lord, open our eyes that we may see where the problem is, to obey you in doing what is asked of us according to Your Living Word, and to be obedient so that we will see Your might and provision and power to save our lives. In Jesus our Saviour's name we ask.

Amen