If You're not in it...

today, God did his usual surprising thing. He likes to do that in my life. and today, he did it in a really unusual way.

so I'm headed to visit this place that was a big part of my past- my old church. honestly, for a long time I've regarded it as spiritually dead and boring. and while I haven't totally changed my mind... I will say that God will find ways to speak anywhere and anyhow He can. and He did just that.

the message was out of 1 Kings 19, where Elijah is threatened by Jezebel and runs away and hides in a cave. then God speaks... Why are you here? he asks Elijah, who gives him this practiced answer that may or may not have been a little whiny if you ask me. then He tells Elijah to go out and stand at the edge of the cave.

God sends a great wind... but He's not in it. this huge great wind, that could destroy everything around for miles, and God's not in it (reminds me of our recent tornadoes and what the response to "Where was God in this destruction?" should be).

next, He sends an earthquake. rumbling, tearing apart the mountains... and He's not in it.

then comes the fire. it's raging and probably pretty awesome/scary- but He's STILL not in it.

all the craziness is over and Elijah is wondering where He is. I can see it now. He's sitting there, on the edge of the cave, adrenaline pumping from the craziness he just lived through and looking around, wondering where God is and why he told Elijah to go out to the edge of the cave. did He just want to scare Elijah? Maybe he just needed to instill awe, or maybe.......

then Elijah hears something. it's more than just silence, but there are no audible words to this. it's like a gentle whisper that moves Elijah's heart.

and when it's over, he realizes... God wasn't in the loud, scary, attention-catching events. He used them, however, to create a silence in which He could speak. God used the loudness to make the quietness noticeable.

and in that moment when I put myself in Elijah's shoes and thought his thoughts, I realized: God was using the quietness of that moment to speak. and He was saying "be still. just sit here. let me speak."

so, I now depart. to sit. and let Him speak.