Thought for Today
1 Kings 19:11 He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
“Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,”
Matthew 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.
Acts 27:18 We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard,
One of the weather apps on my smartphone tells me that Tewksbury received a little more than 17” of snow yesterday and last night. As I write this and look out the window, it is again snowing. This morning’s snowfall is much lighter than yesterday’s.
During halftime of THE GAME yesterday, I went outside and used my snowblower to clear my driveway as much as possible. My guesstimate is that I removed about 8” of accumulated snow. This morning, I can barely tell that my driveway has been touched. There are ridges along both sides; and, the snow on the yard side is perceptibly deeper. But, the driveway is deeply covered in snow. For what it’s worth, there is an even greater ridge at the end of the driveway provided courtesy of the plow trucks.
Two different thoughts were on my mind as I wrestled with my snowblower . . . beside the obvious realization that my snowblower somehow gained weight sitting still in my garage all summer.
First, as I blew my driveway while the snow was still falling at a significant rate, maybe 1” – 2” per hour, I was struck by the omnipotence of our Creator God. Anyone who has even experienced a hurricane, a tornado, a nor’easter, a blue norther or any other significant storm has witnessed the enormous power of our God. Sure, the creation of Creation is also pretty impressive, but I was not there for that demonstration. I have survived hurricanes, nor’easters and blue northers. Just as were those disciples of Jesus, I have been buffeted by the waves, have had the wind against me. Omnipotent means ‘all powerful.’ It is normal and natural for us to find the presence of God in the power of nature.
Pondering on the omnipotence of God almost always leads me to also think about the various ways and places we try to find the presence of God. That line of thinking always leads me to recalling Elijah’s experience. After witnessing the awesome power of our God in defeating the prophets of Baal, Elijah faltered at the rath of Jezebel. “1 Kings 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ 3Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.”
Elijah went out to the wilderness in despair. Ultimately, an angel came to Elijah, provided nourishment and directed Elijah to journey to Mt. Horeb. And there, in a cave, Elijah heard the word of God. "1 Kings 19:9 What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Did Elijah really have to flee into the wilderness to find God? Obviously not. Elijah had already found God in his confrontation with those prophets of Baal. Ultimately, God gave Elijah an ‘object lesson’ in where to find God. Since defeating the prophets of Baal was not enough, God provided a great wind, an earthquake and a fire. And following all of that, “a sound of sheer silence.”
Where was God? God was in it all. The lesson for Elijah and for all of us is that God is always there. God is omnipresent. God is present everywhere, at all times. We don’t have to experience massive storms, earthquakes or fires to find God. We don’t need to be buried in snowy depths to find God. We don’t have to be buffeted by strong winds to find God.
All we have to do to find God is to look and listen. God is always there, always ready to talk, always ready to listen to us and to strengthen and support us. We just need to shut out everything else and listen to that “sound of sheer silence.” God is right there waiting.
Stay safe, listen for God, trust God,
Pastor Ray