2Kings 6:1-7 (New Living Translation)
1 One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. 2 Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.”
“All right,” he told them, “go ahead.”
3 “Please come with us,” someone suggested.
“I will,” he said. 4 So he went with them.
When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. 5 But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!”
6 “Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. 7 “Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it.
Insignificant? Not at all! Why was it even recorded? As I read this story of Elisha, the first thing I remembered was a little boy that died, and a mother that knew in her heart if Elisha would come, her son would be restored, and that is exactly what happened. Many accounts of what I would call “major events”, but here Elisha is retrieving an axe from the river. Such a minor thing, that is unless you know something about this man of God. What I realized as I studied about him is the compassion he had for people. He loved people and his heart was touched when he saw them in need. In this case, an axe, a borrowed one. Maybe this man didn’t have the money to replace it, or maybe he would have been punished for losing it. But whatever it was, Elisha cared about this fella, and with God being ever ready to help his children, a miracle took place and the axe was recovered. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had such a heart for God and His people! Always ready to reach out to anyone that needs help or direction. After all isn’t this what God has called all of us to do? I pray this is your hearts desire, it certainly is mine. Open your heart and the ask Holy Spirit to lead you to help someone!
