Then He 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.
1 Kings 19:11-12 NKJV
The trials that break us, make us. Oh, but how we despise them! In my last post, I discussed the wind, but today, I will continue digging into these three supernatural events that the Lord wasn’t in. God’s revelation to Elijah came not in the supernatural, but in the still small voice of God.
Although, the wind broke rocks, the earthquake shook the mountain, causing even more breakage.
Before we can encounter God’s divine presence, as Elijah did, we must be broken to pieces and sometimes smashed into dust.
God takes His chisel and shaves away some things. Not a pleasant process, but the results are well worth the pain.
I never considered myself self-reliant. As a blind woman, I feel super dependent on people and on God. One affliction after another has come upon me this year. It’s not over yet, but God showed me what He is doing. While He chisels away, I heard His still small voice, just like Elijah.
Before I can experience a deeper relationship with God, I have to get rid of some junk. For me, that came in the form of pride and self-reliance. I have prided myself on my good hearing, and now I have Sudden Sensory Hearing Loss, stemming from several respiratory infections. I am praying and believing for total restoration.
I have also prided myself on good health, and I thought I was pretty tech savvy despite my handicap. I thought I could always protect Iva, my guide dog, but I froze when another dog attacked her. Thank God, she was fine.
In one moment, God revealed something to me. If I want a divine encounter with Him, some things have to be stripped away.
The problem is we often prematurely pray ourselves out of the brokenness and out of our blessings. We complain. We want it gone, and we want it gone now.
Friend, if we can only embrace the shaking and breaking of our lives, and allow God to determine the timing, we will receive a greater blessing. Let’s not interrupt God’s handiwork, but endure His painful process. Then, we will draw closer to Him and experience a deeper relationship. One that is rich with divine encounters. The trials that break us, make us.
Heavenly Father, we don’t like brokenness, but Your Word helps us understand why we must experience it. During these difficult places of brokenness and even crushing, we will trust in Your timing to achieve Your perfect work in our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, help us patiently wait while You chisel. Amen.
DIGGING DEEPER
Read 1 Kings 19:1-12.
HIKING THE TRAIL
Lean on the Lord while you hike the steep, rocky cliffs. Trust in God’s sovereignty. He has total control of our lives. Allow Him to remove some things and unveil His masterpiece.
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Originally posted on September 10, 2020 @ 2:32 pm