In my hometown of Henderson, Kentucky, we’ve had another round of winter weather. While the winter storm is long gone, the snow and ice still remain. While many people see the snow and ice as an inconvenience, for me, I welcome the lessons that God teaches me through something as simple as a winter storm. Being a bit hard-headed in my early Christian walk, I had to learn the hard way that God does not use a loud and booming voice to communicate to us. In fact, I feel in good company. I Kings records the lesson that God had to teach the prophet Elijah: And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (I Kings 19:11-12)
Oftentimes, we miss the methods that God uses to teach us because we are not waiting to hear the still small voice. We claim that if God would just speak to us, give us some physical sign and with that we would listen and be obedient to Him. Jesus taught on this very thing that big wondrous signs will not make a difference. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:27-31). Although Jesus is talking about the lost coming to God, there is still a similar theme to these two passages of scripture. In both, God loudly proclaims that it is not through great and mighty miracles where He does His work of touching the hearts of people. Even if He did allow Lazarus to go and witness to the rich man’s family, they would not believe that God had done such a miracle and would demand that God do another. Look at the number of miracles the crowds saw Jesus doing; look at the numbers of followers that remained near him on Golgotha.
It is through our quiet time that God truly speaks to our hearts. We cannot expect to hear the still small voice that God chooses to use if we are doing so amid the distractions of the television, traffic, and the other experiences of day-to-day chaos? Solomon wrote, Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee (Proverbs 7:15). In other words, it’s never going to be during the “normal routine” of the day where we actually can hear the voice of God. It is only when, in the case of Ezekiel, where we diligently seek to hear his voice that we will find Him. The apostle Paul understood this very thing too, writing to the Jewish Christian converts of his lifetime, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). Again, this idea of only through our diligent efforts will we hear God speak and reward us. In my own experiences, the times where I diligently sought after the Lord, I had to come to an end of my own understanding of the situation and had to truly seek out God’s counsel.
As the winter storm began to hit Sunday morning around 6:30, I began to think how the storm would cause people to slow down; perhaps that was what I and others within the tri-state area affected by the storm needed. Often times we allow life to run ahead of us and we forget what it is like to simply slow down and wait upon God. David understood this as the Holy Spirit led him to write, Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7). Again, this idea of waiting, of diligently seeking Him and waiting patiently for Him is something that does not come natural to us in this microwaved, smart-phoned, and multi-tasking generation. We want instant results and when, as in the case of a winter storm, life requires us to slow down and to be patient, many of us have a hard time doing that. Let the electricity and cable television go out, and our problems are even worse. The lesson from this winter storm: slow down and enjoy the time with friends, family, and the Lord.
