#96: Shadow Encounters

Then He said, "Go 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, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice cane to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (I Kings 19: 11-13).

From a psychological point of view it is possible for a group of people to experience the same thing and give different reports. That is why a matter is established from the (cocurrent) testimonies of two or three witnesses. Suppose we all go for a church conference and on our return we were asked about the meeting, not everyone would give the same testimony. While this may be okay from the human point of view, no matter how different our testimonies are, there is one question that must be answered in the background in the testimonies: "was the LORD in those activities/experiences?"

The passage for today is always a great concern to me each time I come across it. It paints a picture of why I must be very careful in my moments of waiting on God. The bible says that God passed by, and a wind blew vehemently, this on its own should have been a sign of the power of God; at the touch of the wind, Elijah should have concluded thus: "this is the LORD and the LORD is with me. Let me go in this might" and reading further the bible says the wind was blowing before the LORD, as if to say that God did send the wind or it came on His consent; so that should have been the climax of Elijah encounter on the mountain. But Elijah was diligent to note that the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake and after the earthquake was a fire and in all these things, the LORD was not in them.

God has committed Himself to visiting everyone who waits on Him. But how many of us are actually going to tarry for the fullness of the encounter. Imagine if Elijah left the mount with a windy experience. Many people in church are pursuing winds in God's house and I wish they all knew that God is not in the wind. In our day to day walk with God, when God wants to visit us, a lot of things can happen, but we must not be quick to conclude that God is in them.

Surprisingly, when God was actually going to come into the scene, He chose to come in a still small voice. This is another point that burdens me. It is so easy to not hear a still small voice. It is like a whisper. It can easily be ignored. A lousy person cannot hear the still small voice. Someone who is chasing the wind and earthquakes and fire would have missed the whispers of God.

The hallmark of any encounter with God is when He speaks. We cannot share the grace and close the service because a wind blew or fire fell or the building shook or there was a lot of healing. If we are not patient and diligent enough to tarry a while longer to hear what God has to say, we are the most miserable of all men.

In Exodus 19:10 - 20:21 we see a similar story. God told Moses to prepare the Israelites to come to encounter Him. God kept His promise and when He came down, there was lightening and thunder, but just as in the case of Elijah, this was not the main intended agenda. God did not call them for a show. God wanted to speak to His children. It was after all the lightening and thunder that God came down to the the mount. In vs 18 of chapter 20 of Exodus, when the Israelites were giving their testimonies, it was a story of sounds of thunders and trumpets and flashes of lightening. They did bot hear God speak.

ACTION POINT: Why are we gathered to God? To see His hand or to seek His face? Is God in the many experiences that you have had in church? Did you hear the voice of God?