Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Still Small Voice And A Winter Snow

For the past couple days I have been thinking of a story in the Bible and a particular verse.
1 Kings 19:11-13
"'Then He (God) said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, the he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him..."

Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God..."

Yesterday, as I was listening to Chris Tomlin's song, Winter Snow (great song!), I was reminded of the story in First Kings. So often I have this picture in my mind of God speaking through a loud booming voice, or circumstances that have a 'bang' to them, basically something big! And yet, when I listened to that song and thought of the 'still small voice' that was God, that led me to remember the verse in Psalms, which led me to reflect on how God has spoken to me over the years, and I suddenly remembered that it was usually in the still and quiet that He spoke. And why wouldn't He do it that way?

God is such a God of intimacy. He is a jealous God. I began to think of my relationships here on earth as a comparison. Imagine if you really wanted to talk to someone and their response was, "I have all these things to do, so just follow me around and talk as we go." You try it for awhile, but as your friend is running around and you try to talk, you realize that your voice is being drowned out by the noise of everything else around y'all. After awhile, you'd probably get tired of feeling like you weren't being listened to, so you'd stop talking. But, if this person stopped, took the time to sit down in a quite place with just you, you would probably start talking again.

So, why would God be different? I so often go about my life, rushing around, doing different things, asking Him to join me in my busyness and speak to me through it all. And does He? Well, sometimes, He does break through all the noise, and I hear Him speak. But, when have the sweetest times with Him been? When have I heard Him speak the most? When I quiet myself and I sit down quietly before Him. When I shut out all the other noise around me, and I just listen for Him. That is where the intimacy is.

Recently I had stopped setting aside the time to just be with God, but as He began to speak this to me, I am again trying to set that time aside each day. I was overwhelmed by His love yesterday as I considered this; as I considered the intimacy He desires with me; as I considered how He chooses the still and quiet place to speak to me because He wants to get me alone; He so desires relationship with me, that He'll speak to me in the still and quiet place - where it's just me and Him. Is this how He speaks to everyone every time? Absolutely not. God won't be put into a box and He'll speak to each person differently - but the fact that the 'still and quiet' is a repeated theme in the Bible leads me to believe He does often times choose it. God also chose to send His Son to the earth in a quiet way. There wasn't a ton of fanfare surrounding His coming to earth, there weren't loud trumpets announcing Him, there wasn't a parade announcing His birth...it was like a quiet snow.

Winter Snow
(Audrey Assad and Chris Tomlin)

Could've come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could've come like a forest fire
With the power of Heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

You could've swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we've scarred

But you came like a winter snow
You were quiet, You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Oh no, Your voice wasn't in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind
It was still, it was small, it was hidden

Oh, You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

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