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Quiet Whisper


          After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 
          Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:12-13)

           Atheists want God to show up and do something dramatic and silly whenever they want Him to, just to prove (again and again) that He exists. One actually said that if He did so, she would never doubt again. When I pointed out that the Israelites got that wish and still doubted, she insisted that she was better than they were. 
         But Christians aren't any better than the atheists. I think it's "only human" to want the big, bold, dramatic presentation. David told God to "shatter their teeth." He called on God to come down with fire and hail from heaven and shake the mountains. Even Moses said, "Show me Your glory." Another of my friends will settle for less. She says she wants God to lower a note telling her what to do down on a fishing line.
         There are other people who say that God's quiet whisper guides them to stop here, go there, pray for one person or visit another. I'm listening to Ezekiel and God did give him minute instructions, building a model of Jerusalem, lying on his left side for 390 days, then on his right for 40 (or is it the other way around?). I know God can and does direct.
          Of course, I get anxious. What if I don't realize it's God giving the instructions? Yes, I know, His sheep "follow him because they know his voice" (John 10:4) but the devil "masquerades as an angel of light" (I Corinthians 11:14.) It brings to mind the story of Peter walking on the water. Peter was impetuous, and either impetuously brilliant or impetuously foolish. What if the "ghost" lied, claiming to be Jesus to trick Peter in committing suicide? What if "God's voice" is nothing more than my own ego
           Mistakes can be made, but Jesus proved that He is perfectly capable of rescuing those whose faith falters, and those who trust Him when someone else lies. We just need to remember that God is often not in or with the showy shouts, or the grand and glorious gestures.

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