Focus: Where Did It Fall?

Text: 2Kgs.6:6

"And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim."

God doesn't treat symptoms; He focuses on symptom causes. God takes care of situations from their root causes. When we talk about God as a radical God, we are talking about a God who deals with issues from the roots. 

God does not heal on the surface. He does not deliver on the surface. He does not relate with us on the surface. He does not save on the surface. His touch goes deep into the heart of our problems. His words cut through the surface level of our lives to where the need is. That is why He is more interested in the process than He is in the product. 

He delights in going through a process in order to tackle things right where the problem lies - at the root.

Jesus Christ did not die on the cross just to renovate, restore or improve our old nature. No, not at all! Rather He died on the cross to make a new being out of us. In Christ we are new creatures, not an improvement of the old man. The old is devolving; the new is evolving. And that is because He tackled our situation from the roots. He destroyed on the cross of Calvary the root causes of our depravity and malady - sin, Satan and death.

Elisha went with his servants, the sons of the prophets, to a place where they could cut down woods to enlarge their residence or meeting place. As one of them was cutting down wood, his axe fell into the river, and he could not find it. The unfortunate thing was that he borrowed the axe. Immediately he cried out to Elisha, who asked him, "Where did it fall?" That is the kind of question God would ask. Tell me, where did the axe fall? It is the kind of question that tackles root causes. The Scripture says that the man showed Elisha the very spot where the axe fell in.

Right now, God is saying to you, 'Show me where your problem is! Show me exactly what the problem is! Hide nothing from me! I don't want religious or feigned answers. Get real with me!' Be sincere with your God or your minister! Why lie to your doctor or lawyer? What sense does it make lying to the only person who can help you? Jesus Christ asked, "Who touched me… for virtue has gone out of me?" The woman of issue of blood came to Him from behind and told Him all the truth. Mark reports, "But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him ALL THE TRUTH" (Mk.5:33). 

Truth may hurt, but it heals radically and totally - from the inside out.

Tell God where the pain is! Christ even asked a father concerning how long his child's problem had lasted, and the father answered correctly. When Elisha's servant told him where the axe had fallen, then we read that Elisha "cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim" (2Kgs.6:6). You can't afford to be looking for the right answers in the wrong places. The axe was miraculously recovered from the very spot where it fell into the river.

I pray that your axe will swim up and back to you. God still works miracles today. You can't lose whatever you borrowed to serve God's purpose. God knows what to do to stop or dry your tears. Show God where the issue lies in your life! He will handle it from there. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter