Two Storms

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
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. 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?”
- 1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV

From a mountain top in Chattanooga , Tennessee where I stood dodging raindrops and taking pictures, I watched a microburst storm blow through the Chattanooga area last week.
The storm was quite impressive with the intensity of its wind and rain, its lightning flashes and its booming thunder.
The intensity only lasting a few minutes and the storm itself lasting only just a bit longer.
But wow… impressive from a distance nonetheless.
Then, come to find out, that storm knocked down some trees and power lines relatively close to my neighborhood.

And that storm reminded me of a storm that I witnessed a few years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, that I watched from my 22nd floor hotel room window.

As I sat and watched the fierceness of that storm as it beat down upon the river and lit up the Jacksonville skyline, I found myself speaking out loud.
And since I was there alone, speaking to no one in particular but me.

“Wow. That’s amazing.
Holy Cow that’s crazy.
Should I back away from the window?
Man, look at the lightning.
That’s just beautiful!”

Both that day on the mountain and that night in Jacksonville, I began thanking God for the awesome display of His power, of His creation.

As I watched those storms, and have felt my house shake on its very foundation during others, I was reminded of Elijah in the cave on each occasion .

Now, I’m not on the run for zealously doing God’s work like Elijah was (far from it, I’m afraid).
I just have sometimes found my own man-made cave of sorts, tired and a bit hungry, looking for God in the storm.
Looking for God in the rain, in the wind, in the thunder and lightning.

But He was not there.

It was only after the storms that I realized that He was right there with me. He was who I was talking with while taking in the power and beauty of the Chattanooga and the Jacksonville storms.
And fearfully shaking from the example of His power and might in other storms. Realizing that He was right there by me, the still small voice comforting me as I looked for Him in the storm.

Elijah looked for the Lord in the powerful wind…
in the earthquake…
in the fire…
and The Lord was not in them.
Yet, it was not until after the fire that he heard the still small voice and he came out to see the Lord pass by.

I wonder if sometimes we can find ourselves not hearing that still small voice of the Lord, because we’re so busy looking for Him in the Big, in the Loud, in the Grandios.

Yet, sometimes He’s not there. Sometimes He’s in the calm and the still after the storm

And sometimes He’s comforting us in the midst of it.

Sometimes He calms the storm…

Sometimes He just calms me.

Elijah was in a storm of life. So much so that the Lord sent an angel to comfort him, feed him, and encourage him on his journey. After that, Elijah walked for 40 days and nights, and found refuge in his cave to rest and hide.... and found the Lord in the still, small voice.

Seek Him... and He shall be found by you.

Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem