God Hints

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. 2 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.”

Then 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. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axe head 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.

Can you imagine a world without any problems Friend?  We will get there someday, those of us who know the Lord.  But until then we have the daily struggles.  Jesus promised in John 16:33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  

But I wonder sometimes if it is in the problems that we get a glimpse of God.  And sometimes in the problems we get an opportunity.

We have been having some electrical problems in our barn, which means that each morning before I start the milking machine, I say a little prayer that it works.  Because Not milking the cows is not really an option. (Trust me I know… They told me!)

Now praying over a milking machine may sound simple and frivolous.  And it probably is, but I do believe that my God wants me to invite Him into even the smallest details of my life, into the little things.  And these little prayers actually initiate deeper conversations with Him.  Now don’t get me wrong, if that were the only thing I prayed for and I was silent as soon as I the milk pump started, that would reveal a shallowness to my faith, but that is another conversation for another day.

Well, the other day, milking went fine.  But afterwards when I had poured the milk into the pail to take to the house, I went to start the pump back up to wash the system…. Nothing.  Not the gentle roar that I was hoping for, not even a dull hum.  Not so much as a click.  My heart sank, at the same time I breathed a Thank you to God that at least the milking was done.  I and the cows were grateful.  I checked the plug everything seemed fine.  But as I unplugged it, I noticed a looseness in the end of the plug.

Now some would call it coincidence.  But I don’t really believe in coincidences, I believe in God.  I believe in the God who gives hints.  In the God who nudges me as if to say, “check the plug, take it apart”.  I grabbed the screwdriver that was handy, and disassembled the plug to find that the ground wire was not tightly connected, and that one of the other wires had heated up to melt the plug end inside a little.  Now thank God there was no real damage done.  But there’s more…..

It would have been easy for me to get upset, to get frustrated, to grumble in the Moment.  And trust me I have done that on more than one occasion when life was less convenient than I wanted.  But I have learned that those things cause us to miss the God Moments, The nudging the hinting of God.  As He points us to the answers to our issues.  It reminds me of the verse in the Bible: Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (says the Lord)

Now maybe an electrical cord end (or an axe head) is not a “great” thing, but it was easily unsearchable, easily overlooked.  I mean really, how many times have you tackled a problem and tried coming at it from lots of angles checking all the major issues only to find it was something simple?

So Friend, when you are faced with inconveniences in life, great and small, take a Moment, call to God and look for His hints and nudges. 

Prayer: Jesus, forgive me for when I ignore you, or don’t seek you in all areas of my life.  I want to draw near to you, to invite you into the details of my life because I know that is where you want to be.  Help me to think of your first, to pray to you often, and to appreciate your still small voice leading me, guiding me, and instructing me in all that I do.

Amen.

Point to Ponder: How often do I make my life more difficult by not inviting God into my issues and problems because I deem those problems too small to bring to God?

Verse to Memorize and Meditate on: Luke 12:6  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

Application: Next time when you are faced with even the smallest challenge, ask for God’s wisdom and insight. 

Leave a comment below to share what God spoke to you specifically in this passage.