Salt and the Spotlight

I was explaining what “Thank you, five” meant to my sister the other day.  For those of you reading who don’t know this term it’s when a crew member tells us we must be in our places in five minutes, to which we respond, yep you guessed it. Thank you, five.  

 I was telling her how helpful it is to know exactly when and where I need to be. (plus, I just feel cool saying it back) That’s when I started to think about my life and how often I wish God would give me a five-minute warning.   How much easier would that be?! No more wondering when something would happen because he told me!  

I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that God doesn’t really work like that.  Unfortunately, we just have to trust him… That’s when a lightbulb went off.  I thought, “Ooh, that is the whole point, Isn’t it?”     

 If God always told us when, where, and how then we would never learn to put our faith in him. We would lose our ability to wait and listen.   Sometimes, God uses big things to get our attention while other times it’s a quiet whisper.  Elijah knows all about that.  In 1 Kings 19: 11-13 we get to see how Elijah was probably expecting something a little different.

¹¹ 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. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ 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?”

As you can see in that passage many things happened. I know if I were Elijah, I would’ve thought multiple times surely it was God.  However, we find God in the gentle whisper and not in all the chaos.  If Elijah didn’t wait, then he would’ve missed God.  This passage teaches us that God doesn’t always show up in the way we think he will, but in the way that grows us the most.  What a loving God!

We have to slow down and intentionally seek God. He won’t come to your dressing room and tell you that you need to be on stage in five minutes, but he will guide you and prepare you along the way.   He wants you to trust in him that he has it all worked out and it will happen at the perfect time. The more you walk with God the more you will see that you don’t need a five-minute warning. You just need him.

Verses to dive into:

Deuteronomy 4:29 
2 Corinthians 5:7 
1 Kings 19:11-13