Techniques

All of our family met together in northern Idaho to celebrate my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary.  One day a bunch of us drove to a remote lake to fish for rainbow and brook trout.  The fishing pole one of the grandkids used broke and we could not fix it.  But Sandy’s daughter, Kimmy, asked if she could just take some fishing line and with her hook baited with worm toss it out to see what she could catch.  She was bored watching an inactive bobber and her idea seemed much more fun.
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Vicki and I asked her to walk further down the shoreline so as she thrashed through the water she would not scare away the fish near our lines.  Vicki pointed to a good spot for her to throw her line out.  We also hinted that it was unlikely she would catch anything because she was too noisy and too close to her bait.  We didn’t want her to be discouraged when nothing happened.  But Kimmy was quite content to fish her way.  Of course, you know what happened.  Kimmy caught a brook trout!  Go figure.

Meditation
2 Kings 6:5-7—As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water, and he cried out: “Oh, my master, it was borrowed!”  Then the man of God asked, “Where did it fall?”  When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a stick, threw it there, and made the iron float. Then he said, “Pick it up.”  So he reached out and took it.
 
Picture this unfortunate man who has lost the valuable tool a friend lent him.  Either he cannot swim and therefore does not jump in the Jordan River to find the ax head, or the current is too swift to even bother trying.  I’ve stood by the bank of the Jordan River and it is far too murky to see anything. So, this son of a prophet does the smartest thing he can think of—he asks the prophet Elisha for help.

An iron ax head does not float.  What do you suppose went through the minds of the apprentices when their master cut a stick and threw it into the water.  Logically, Elisha’s technique for ax head retrieval surely seemed ludicrous.  But Elisha was not acting logically.  He acted in faith.  He saw a problem and trusted God to fix the issue assumingly by doing what the Spirit of God led.  God can make metal float!
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Isn’t it easy to find fault with the techniques people choose that we think are ridiculous?  Yet, before we pack ice on a hot, new method, perhaps we should remember that we serve a clever God who delights in being creative.   The moral of the story is there are often many ways to reach solution and the greatest thing we can do when there seems to be no answer is to trust The Answer.  He will provide.  It may not be the way we expect, or according to our timetable, but then is that really the point?  Heavenly techniques often skirt earthly reason giving us something to think about . . . in reveration!  
 
Inspiration
The best solutions are often simple, yet unexpected.—Julian Casablancas, singer and songwriter
 
©2008 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)