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Please Come With Us
Jon Burgess“Please come with us,” someone suggested.“I will,” he said. 2 Kings 6:3
This quirky little story in 2 Kings 6 about a floating ax head contains all the elements needed for living out our God-given purpose.
1. The Problem: 1One 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." We will always find ourselves in a place where we don't have enough room. When we feel the limitations physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually we bring our problems to the Lord.
2. The Plan:2Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.” We make our plans and the Lord directs our steps. The planning process should always involve the confirmation of the Holy Spirit and a team with a unified vision to make it happen.
3. The Permission: “All right,” he told them, “go ahead.” A plan without God's permission is a recipe for pride and a fall. It doesn't matter how convinced we are with the success of our plan, we must get God's green light before accelerating. If not, we will end up in a collision with the very God we say we are serving. Permission involves honoring the Lord with not only the "what" but also the "when". Timing is everything when starting a new work.
4. The Presence: 3“Please come with us,” someone suggested. “I will,” he said. 4So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees." This little exchange between the prophet and his team is everything! Even with the plan and the permission if they don't have God's presence there's no point. It's why Moses said, "If you don't personally go with us, don't make us leave this place. (Ex. 33:15)" It's not just about working for God but working with God. It's not about building a place of worship and then inviting His presence, but building a place of worship in His presence as a worship to Him.
5. The Problem: 5"But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river." Just because we are doing the Lord's work and the Lord is with us it does not mean we won't encounter challenges to our faith along the way. Between the promise and the provision, there will be problems we must face by faith. Just like that ax head, it doesn't matter how sharp we are or how strong we are if we are sunk there's only one way out...
6. The Prayer: “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." This conversation between the man and Elisha is such a pitch-perfect example of what real prayer looks like. It's on the job, usually not in a prayer room that everything goes wrong. It's the honesty of admitting that we don't have the money to buy our own ax or the means to retrieve the one we've borrowed. There's no shame from Elisha. He doesn't say, "Well, it was your fault, so you figure it out." No, he asks for details and the impossibility of the problem doesn't even phase him. He just needed to asked and now he would spring into action. Our God will do the same for us!
7. The Provision: "Then the ax head floated to the surface. 7“Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it. God did the miracle but the man had to participate. God broke His own laws of nature involving weight, mass, gravity to reveal His heart to answer our prayers and help us bring the dream to pass. Notice, Elisha isn't the one chopping the wood. We do our part and God does His part. Elisha makes the ax head float but he tells the man to reach out and grab it. Don't just look at it. Reach out and grab it. What's impossible for us is possible for Him. He will help us bring this plan to pass through Hismiraculous provision and our participation.
So many applications of the truths above. Whether it's the fact that our house is too small for our growing boys or it's the Future And Hope Building Initiative at New Hope that we are still raising money for the catalyst for the miraculous is this simple prayer: Please Come With Us!
Lord, thank You for unlocking this passage for me this morning in a way that I have never seen before. I truly needed this wisdom to guide me forward. I have everything I need as long as You are with me!
