Saturday, August 11, 2012

Fear and Faith

"Enough, Lord. Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 1Kgs 19:4

Elijah is afraid. He has done God's work and vanquished the prophets of Baal, but now he is being threatened with his own life. Escaping into the desert, he sits under a broom tree and prays for  death.

Elijah's despair is deep. Even when an angel offers him food and drink, he hesitates. After eating he goes back to sleep still unable to see a future for himself. Only after the angel gives him a second meal does he listen and begin his forty days journey to God's holy mountain where God will reveal himself not in a loud and violent wind, or an earthquake or fire, but in an almost inaudible breeze.

Listening for God's voice is hard work. While we want God to be clear, distinct and understandable, God rarely speaks in a voice we can hear with our ears. Rather, we must pay attention to life as it is and let God speak through the ordinary events of everyday. Only then can we be sure that God is a not a magical presence but an almost indefinable hope, someone who accompanies us quietly to the places and people he designates.

Today, listen quietly. God is speaking.

How have you heard God speak in the everyday events of your life?

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