Does anyone else find yourself spending more and more time looking for things you have lost? I hope I’m not the only one. It seems like I am always losing my coffee cup in the church. I’ll walk around with it, set it down to do something, and then forget to pick it up. I can spend a lot of time searching every room until I find it. I used to have a bright red coffee cup because at least then I could scan a room quickly to see if that is where I left it.
A few weeks ago I spent a long time looking for my phone. At least with a phone you can call it and then listen for it to ring, although I didn’t think of doing that. I couldn’t find it anywhere in the house and the reason was because I had left it on the patio overnight. Losing things is frustrating and time consuming and it can also be costly if what we lose has to be replaced.
Today we are going to finish our series on the prophet Elisha by looking at what has to be one of the most unusual miracles in the Bible. In this miracle the prophet Elisha helps a young man find something that he lost. The story is found in 2 Kings 6:1-7
The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.” And he said, “Go.”
The one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?” “I will,” Elisha replied. And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water.
“Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
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. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
The prophet Elisha was now mentoring young prophets and there were so many following him that they had outgrown the place where they were meeting. They decided to build a new school so go down to the Jordan River to cut poles to use in the building. As they were working, an iron ax head flew off a handle and was lost in the water. The young prophet who lost the ax head was just a poor college student, so he cried out to Elisha because he had borrowed the ax and had no money to buy the owner a new one. Iron was expensive and this was going to be a burden and a problem for the young man.
Elisha asked the man where he lost the ax head and in that very spot Elisha threw in a stick and the ax head floated to the surface. Elisha told the young man to reach into the water and take the ax head out. He did this and the problem was solved. The lost was found. … And why is this story in the Bible? Why is this odd and seemingly insignificant miracle included among other miracles Elisha did like raising a child from the dead, blinding an entire army to hand them over to the enemy, and healing a man of leprosy? In comparison to those miracles, this one is ridiculous - and not in a good way.
But it is included in the Bible, and this might be just the miracle someone here needs today because it tells us is that God cares about the things we lose. God cares about the details of our lives. God cares about our lost keys and phones. God cares about the tests we take in school and the tests we go through at the doctors. As a pastor in Lewisburg, I was reminded that God even cares about broken sump pumps.
The parsonage in Lewisburg sat on top of an underground creek and there was so much groundwater flowing under the house that there were 3 sump pumps in the basement. After several days of rain, I realized that I hadn’t heard the sump pumps running, which was not a good thing. I went to the basement and found several inches of water everywhere. The sump pump that handled most of the water had gotten stuck so I jiggled the post and it started to work.
When it started working, it cleaned out most of the water quickly and things began to dry, so I didn’t think much more about it. I went to bed that night and as I listened to it rain, I thought about the sump pump. I decided I should check it again and see if it was working, and once again, it had stopped. I jiggled the post again and it started up. Long story short, I ended up having to set my alarm for every 30 minutes so that I would wake up, go to the basement, and jiggle the post to get the pump working.
That was a Saturday night and so on Sunday morning I was sitting in the Sunday School class I helped lead and shared about not getting any sleep because I had to jiggle the sump pump all night. Someone asked me if I had prayed about it. I thought they were kidding. I laughed and said why would I pray for a sump pump. But they were serious. Why wouldn’t I pray for a sump pump? Didn’t I think God could do something to help the situation? Couldn’t God step in and make a sump pump work? Or maybe I needed to pray and ask God to help me feel rested and refreshed even though I had to get up every 30 minutes.
They reminded me that God cares about everything in my life. It doesn’t mean God will fix everything in my life, but God cares about it, and if cares about it then we can ask God for help. The young man was concerned about losing the ax head and not being able to return it so he cried out to Elisha for help, and Elisha helped him. He did a ridiculous miracle and made iron float so the man could be saved from a huge debt.
The first lesson for us from this crazy miracle is this: God cares about the details of our lives. God cares about our car problems, lost phones, and frustrating jobs. God cares about our financial struggles, upcoming tests, and disappointments in life. If it matters to you, it matters to God, which means we can turn to God with any and all of our problems, needs, and concerns. Nothing is too small and insignificant for God to care about. Whatever details you are struggling with today, whatever might be stressing you out or causing you problems, can be lifted to God in prayer.
But let’s also look at this miracle in a symbolic way. Sometimes what God cares about the most is not when we lose our keys or phones but when we lose our spiritual edge. When we lose our passion, when we lose our interest in spiritual things, and when our faith grows cold - God cares!
Have you lost your spiritual edge? Have you stopped praying for what you need and what others need? Have you stopped trying to listen to God or learn more about God through His word? Have we stopped caring about whether or not we grow in our relationship with Jesus? Have we stopped serving and trying to help others because we are too busy or too focused on our own problems? If any of these are true, then we have lost our spiritual edge - and God cares about what we have lost.
Now the truth is that none of us set out to lose this edge, it usually just happens over a period of time. We get busy and miss a few Sundays of worship or Sunday School and then tell ourselves we don’t really need to go back. We stop giving and serving and then tell ourselves that it didn’t really make any difference, so why start up again. Losing our spiritual edge doesn’t happen overnight, and we never set out to lose it, but it happens and it happens to all of us.
Pastors can lose their spiritual edge. Sometimes I can get so busy doing God’s work that I forget to simply take time to be with God. I can go through a week and suddenly realize that the only time I prayed was when I was in worship or asked to pray at a meeting. I can easily find myself only reading the Bible for sermons and leading Bible study. I never start out to lose that edge, but suddenly find it lost. If that is what you are experiencing today, then this very strange miracle has something to say to you. I know it is speaking to me. Here’s what it is saying go us:
When we find ourselves in a place of spiritual need, we can turn to God and get our edge back.
If your spiritual life needs some passion, joy, meaning, or purpose, God is there to help. If our faith needs to start growing again, then this miracle shows us what to do.
Step 1. Be honest about where you lost your edge. Where and when did we start losing our spiritual passion or interest? Look back over the past few days, weeks, months, or years and ask yourself, when did I start to lose my spiritual edge. When did the passion go away? When did I stop feeling joy? When did I stop praying or reading God’s word? When did I stop attending worship and small groups? Where did I start to leave it behind?
Elisha asked the young prophet, where do you lose the ax head? Let’s go to the place where you lost it and see if we can figure out how to find it. So where did we lose our spiritual edge? When was it we stopped serving God? Was it when we started a new job or picked up a new hobby? Did we stop going to a small group because someone said something we didn’t like? Did we stop giving when finances got tight? Did we lose our spiritual edge during the pandemic and we just haven’t gotten it back yet? If we can find out where we were and what was going on when we lost our edge, then maybe we can figure out how to pick it up again.
If nothing else, it’s important for us to be honest with God about how and why we allowed our spiritual edge to grow dull. We can’t blame others for the choices we have made. We can’t keep making excuses about why we have allowed our love for God to run cold. If we can figure out what and where and when we began to lose our edge, maybe we can learn how to get it back.
The second step is this: with God’s help take back what you lost. The young man cried out to Elisha and when they got to the edge of the river where he lost his ax head, Elisha threw a stick into the water and made the ax head float. God helped him, but the young man had to step into the water and lift it out.
Lift it out, Elisha said. The man waded into the water, reached out his hand and took it. The man couldn’t do it alone, he needed God to raise the ax head to the surface, but then he had to get wet and take back what was lost. God will help us. God will do his part, but we have to be willing to get our feet wet and put some work into getting our edge back. With God’s help we can experience a deeper faith, more passionate worship, and a renewed sense of meaning and purpose in our faith. God will do His part, God will fight for us and help us, but we have to be willing to do our part and fight for our own spiritual health and well-being.
Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life says it this way. Only God can send the spiritual waves, but we need to learn how to surf. God will help us get our edge back by giving us opportunities to worship, pray, learn, serve, and grow, but we have to be willing to take advantage of those opportunities and do our part. We need to trust God to help us but then commit to doing what only we can do.
I want to be clear that our faith is NOT just a set of rules and regulations to follow, but the spiritual practices and disciplines we incorporate into our lives can help sharpen our spiritual edge. Here at Faith Church we talk about three important relationships that form the foundation of our faith: a relationship with God, the church, and the world. Each of these relationships is strengthened when we focus on 5 rhythms which are not to do lists, but they do provide us opportunities that can help us grow spiritually.
For example, one of the rhythms that can improve our relationship with God is the rhythm of scripture. This isn’t just reading the Bible, it’s allowing the Bible to direct our life. But for the Bible to direct our life, we have to know what it says and to know what it says we have to read it and maybe study it with others. God can give us opportunities to hear the word in worship, read the word through personal devotions, and study the word with others, but we have to take advantage of those opportunities. We have to wade into the water and take back what we have lost.
A rhythm that can strengthen our relationship with the church is generosity and this doesn’t mean we just give a certain amount of money to the church, it means use our time and treasure to further the Kingdom of God. God will provide the opportunities for us to give and serve, but we have wade into the water and take back what we have lost.
In the 3 relationship workbooks, that are available in the lobby and online, there is a page of ideas on how to grow in all 15 rhythms. These are not lists of rules to follow, these are opportunities that can help us get our edge back. I want to invite you to check them out this week and see if there is something you can do to take back what you have lost.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus has messages for different churches and to the church in Ephesus he said, You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. Revelation 2:4-5
They people have lost their passion and love. They have lost some of their drive to pray and worship and serve God. I’m sure they didn’t intend to lose their spiritual edge, but it is gone. Jesus tells them to go back to where they lost it and pick it up again. Do the things you did at first. Do what you were doing when you were passionate and strong and growing in your faith. Wade into the water and take back what you lost.
God does care about what we have lost and He is most concerned when we start to lose our spiritual edge. So let’s be honest about where and when and how we lost it. Let’s remember where we were and what we were doing when we first loved Jesus and then let’s go back to those moments and pick it up. Step into the water and take back what you lost. Recommit yourself fully to God and regain your spiritual edge.
Next Steps
Elisha - Regaining Our Spiritual Edge
Read 2 Kings 6:1-7.
● Why is this miracle included in the Bible?
● What does it tell us about God?
● What does it say about us?
God cares about what we have lost.
● In what ways have you lost your spiritual edge?
● What impact is this having on your life?
● When, where, and how did you lose it?
● Ask God for help.
With God’s help, take back what you lost.
● Choose one of the 3 Relationships to grow in:
__________________________________________
● Choose one rhythm in that relationship to focus on:
__________________________________________
● Choose one of the Ideas to Grow from that rhythm to help you regain your spiritual edge:
__________________________________________
● Step into the water and DO IT!
3 Relationship Workbooks can be found in the lobby or online at bellefontefaith.com/3r (see step 2)
