If you are going to recover what has been lost, you will need to act fast. In this Bible study, we are going to discover the Five keys that are necessary to recover what has been lost.

And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
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.
Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

2 Kings 6:1-7

It has to bother you

The first step that is necessary if you desire to recover what you have lost, is the simple fact that it has to bother you that you have lost something in the first place. If it doesn’t bother you that you have lost the thing that you have lost, then you will never bother to look for it again. I know that this sounds very simplistic, but if you don’t start with concern, then you will have no reason to go looking to regain what you’ve lost. We are surrounded by Christians who have become apathetic to the things of God and until they have a genuine concern for that loss, they will never be able to regain their zeal and/or passion.

You have to admit that you are the problem

The next step starts with taking responsibility for the loss. Notice in the passage above, that once he realizes that he has lost the axe head, he doesn’t engage in the blame game, that we all too often engage ourselves in. He doesn’t blame the original owner of the axe for the loss of the axe head. How easy would it have been to convince himself that it wasn’t his fault at all, but rather the owner of the axe must not have properly maintained the axe before loaning it out? That is what we do all too often, we point the finger at numerous different things when we notice that we have lost our passion or interest in the things of God. If we are going to recover that which is lost, we have to admit that we are the problem and everything else is just an excuse.

You have to ask for help

Next, notice that he immediately asks for help. Once he realized that he was missing something and that it was his responsibility, he asked for help at once. If you wait too long to ask for help, it will hinder your ability to locate what you’ve lost. The details get as mirky as the dirty water of the Jordan River if you wait too long to admit that you need help. Don’t wait to ask for help, asking is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of maturity.

You need to remove the thing that’s in the way

More often than not, the thing that is in the way and the thing that is keeping you from regaining what you’ve lost is you! Get out of the Lord’s way, and allow him to work in your life. Admitting that you can’t fix it yourself is a step in the right direction. Notice that Elisha didn’t hold onto the stick, but simply threw it into the river. If we are going to allow God to work, we have to let go of the stick!

Go after it!

Finally, we get to the last step in the process. Once we are bothered by the loss, take responsibility for the loss, ask for help in regaining the loss and get out the Lord’s way, and allow him to show us what we need to do, we need to go after it. In other words, whatever direction the Lord points you to, you need to humble yourself and follow his direction, and then and only then, will you be able to recover what has been lost.

Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.