Good morning, DearHeart.
There is something about the stillness of the morning, when the wind doesn’t blow, that creation seems to be heightened.
In the stillness, Russell Crow (our rooster) begins to sound off about 4:30AM. (He has chilled a little and hasn’t tried to attack me since before the February freeze). His early morning crowing seems to echo off of the trees on the creek.
Dale’s coffee pot, on auto-start, brews and wafts into each room. I’m not a big coffee drinker, but love the smell of coffee the morning – especially mornings that are calm and easy.
The tree that sits north east of the porch begins to come alive with chirping around 5:45. The songs of the morning birds build and build like an orchestra delivering the peak to a movie plot.
All, a part of my early mornings.
All such a contrast to mornings when the force-filled Oklahoma winds are humming.
The sounds all remind me of Elijah … running for his life, has an encounter with God. The Lord tells him to go out on the mountain and stand there. As he was standing there, Elijah experienced a windstorm which was so terrible that the rocks were torn loose. But the Lord was not in the wind.
He then experienced an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake either.
After the earthquake, he experienced a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
“And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12, NLT)
And Elijah encountered the Lord.
At times, the storms of life will blow cold and harsh upon our days. Our foundations may quake and shake a bit on those days when unexpected (and unwanted) news is delivered to us. With a single strike, our emotions can feel like they have been set ablaze.
And it is right in those moments, if we lean in ever so slightly, our souls will encounter the Holy Spirit of our God …
“I will never leave you nor forsake you!”
“I have loved you with an everlasting love!”
“You are bought with a price, you are Mine!
“I am the Lord, your God. Is anything to hard for Me?”
Perhaps it is why I love this story in Elijah so much. The winds, the earthquake, and the fire could all be experienced by others… but, the gentle, small whisper? It is meant for the audience of one. His child. It is heard only by the one to whom the Lord is speaking, to the one who is listening. The one who is expecting a Word from their Savior.
Wake up.
Expect His whisper.
Listen.
Go.