JANUARY 20, 2015
When
God Is Quiet
Read: 1
Kings 19:1-12
As [Elijah] lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched
him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” —1
Kings 19:5
I love to take
pictures of sunsets at Lake Michigan. Some are subtle shades of pastel. Others
are bold strokes of bright color. Sometimes the sun sinks quietly behind the
lake. Other times it goes down in what looks like a fiery explosion.
In pictures and in
person, I prefer the latter. But both show the handiwork of God. When it comes
to God’s work in the world, my preferences are the same. I would rather see
dramatic answers to prayer than ordinary provisions of daily bread. But both
are the work of God.
Elijah may have had
similar preferences. He had grown accustomed to being the center of God’s grand
displays of power. When he prayed, God showed up in dramatic ways—first in a
miraculous defeat against the prophets of Baal and then in the end to a long and
devastating drought (1 Kings 18). But then Elijah felt afraid and started to
run. God sent an angel to feed him to strengthen him for his journey. After 40
days he arrived in Horeb. God showed him that He was now communicating in a
still small voice, not in flashy miracles (19:11-12).
If you’re discouraged
because God hasn’t shown up in a blaze of glory, perhaps He’s revealing Himself
with His quiet presence.
Lord, may we see You today in the small
details of life in ways that we hadn’t noticed
before. Thank You for the gift of Your quiet
presence, wherever we may find it today.
God
is in the small things as well as the great.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012