What other biblical instances show God's intervention in seemingly small problems? Opening snapshot: an axe head in the Jordan “As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, ‘Oh, my master, it was borrowed!’” (2 Kings 6:5) The prophet’s helper panicked over a borrowed tool. God, through Elisha, made the iron float—proof that heaven stoops to the riverbank for a simple laborer. God cares about lost tools and sour water • Lost donkey search – Before Saul ever knew he would be king, he was just looking for his father’s strayed donkeys (1 Samuel 9:3–20). God guided the search and used it to lead Saul to Samuel. • Bitter springs healed – Jericho’s water was undrinkable. Elisha threw salt into the spring: “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; no longer will death or barrenness result from it’” (2 Kings 2:21). A local inconvenience became a lifelong testimony of God’s nearness. Food shortages fixed one meal at a time • Poison in the stew – Field gourds ruined the prophets’ supper. Elisha added flour, and “there was no harm in the pot” (2 Kings 4:41). • Widow’s oil – Debt collectors threatened to take two sons. One small jar of oil kept pouring until every jar was full, clearing the debt (2 Kings 4:1–7). Animals, insects, and borrowed equipment • Balaam’s donkey – A stubborn animal’s detour saved Balaam’s life (Numbers 22:21–33). • Jonah’s plant – A vine sprang up to shade the prophet, showing God’s patient attention even to Jonah’s comfort (Jonah 4:6). • Lost ax head (our text) – Iron floated because a prophet asked and God listened. A personal name in a crowd • Hagar’s water skin – “Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water” (Genesis 21:19). One parched servant girl, one crying child, one well supplied by God. • Peter’s mother-in-law – Jesus “touched her hand, and the fever left her” (Matthew 8:15). A single household’s illness mattered enough for immediate healing. Coins, taxes, and fish “Go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for Me and for yourself” (Matthew 17:27). A routine tax need, met through a single fish—daily life funded by divine creativity. Bread baked over coals After His resurrection, Jesus met tired fishermen with breakfast: “When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread” (John 21:9). The risen Lord still tended to empty stomachs and sore muscles. What these moments teach us today • No concern is too trivial for the Creator who numbers the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7). • Small interventions often open doors to larger purposes; Saul’s donkeys led to a throne. • God dignifies ordinary work—axe heads, stew pots, fishing lines. • The same Lord who parts seas also sweetens water, finds coins, and heals fevers, proving His faithful presence in every corner of life. |
    |