By BRENDA RUMBOL
Tuesday 28 July 2020
1 Kings 19
Sitting in the garden … watching and listening.
- The breeze rustling the leaves
- The snap of a twig as two pigeons show off to each other
- The birds chirping, communicating, praising God in song
- The squirrels chasing each other – I never realised that squirrels expressed themselves in so many different ways … hissing, chattering, arguing – this is my space, I’ll chase you off; I’m hiding, you can’t catch me; a swish of the tail and a leap onto another tree.
In Acts chapter 2 we read: “On the day of Pentecost the disciples were sitting together in one place. There was a sound from heaven like a roaring mighty wind and the Holy Spirit came …. Devout Jews in Jerusalem were astounded to hear unlearned men speaking in various languages by the power of the Spirit.
Elijah (1 Kings 19) fled for his life from Jezebel’s threats. God told him to go to the mountain where he would meet with him.
- There was a powerful wind but the Lord was not in the wind
- There was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake
- There was a fire but the Lord was not in the fire
- After the fire came a gentle whisper …… and Elijah was ready and alert to hear what God wanted to say to him and receive his instructions for his next course of action.
How does God catch our attention?
- By a show of great power?
- By an extraordinary event?
- By a word spoken by an ordinary person?
- Or a gentle whisper, a prompting or a nudge?
The hymn ‘Dear Lord and Father of mankind’ has this verse:
“Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm.”