Lightning

There's lightning in the sky tonight, along with the accompanying thunder and, of course, rain. My entire life I've loved storms. Something speaks to me in the bright flash, something sings to me in the rumble of the thunder, and the rain refreshes everything it falls on.

Every time I see lighting, I'm reminded of 1 Kings 1.11b-13

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

What a word-picture. Intense wind, an earthquake, and a fire. All of these symbolic in the New Testament of the new covenant (mighty rushing wind of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the earthquake that tore the veil to the Holy of Holies at the crucifiction, and the tongues of fire that landed on the heads of those in the upper room), yet God showed up and whispered.

Everyone loves to talk about the way God came rumbling and hollering at Ezekiel to not let the Witch Jezebel defeat God's prophet - not after the fire from heaven and the slaying of the 400 prophets of Baal. But God was doing more than rebuking Ezekiel - he was reminding him of his nature. Remember, the day before *wham* - fire from heaven, and 400 died. But LORD was not in the fire - and after the fire, God sent a prophet... a whisper.

Many times in our lives we see a radical situation change in our life, or in the life of someone else. We assume God is teaching a lesson or using that to directly communicate through the event a truth to somwone. Can he do that? Of course. But how many times the LORD is not in the fire, but is really calling us to show up and whisper? In the rubble following the earthquake, the darkness following the lightning, or the ash following the fire - are you whispering when needed?