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"Still and Small"

I’ve often appreciated Elijah’s fervor. This is a prophet with passion. There are few characters in the Bible that seem to have the same burning and zeal--even Jesus was compared to him! Elijah was a man who was, as we might say these days, on fire for God.  We love passion - and why not?  People with a zeal for life are contagious!  It is invigorating to be around them and, for a moment, leaves us a palpable sense of purpose. 

We sometimes talk about being on fire for God as though we should be tireless in our pursuit, and endlessly energetic.  “I’ll sleep when I’m dead - there’s too much to do!”  What happens to us when, in all our zeal, we look for God in nothing but signs and wonders - nothing but the excitement of the fire and the earthquake? 

Surely, if God had wanted robots for the Kingdom, he would have made them.  As we spin our wheels and run in circles, we deny some of the very things God made us for.  Instead of whole human beings, we become tired human doings.  Eventually, our passion is there but without love.  A clanging cymbal. Noise and chaos. 

On the journey to Horeb, God fed Elijah and sustained him.  When Elijah - commonly known as a Prophet of action - finally arrived on the mountain he told God of his zeal, his passion, and his problems.  Even still, God spoke not through raging flame or earth-shattering winds but in a mysterious and peace-giving silence.  When Elijah demanded action, God asked Him to wait.  We were made to live as whole human beings, in cycles and seasons of work and rest, passion and peace.  God does great things with hearts that are still and small. 

After all, we can’t busy our way into love.

For all my burning and desire
I can’t find You in the flame
For all the shaking up I’ve tried
I can’t find You in the quake
Oh for all my running in circles
What have I become but a little tired? 
Hush, I'll wait for
You—be with me through it all
You—Spirit speak, still and small
 
For all the hot air that I blow
I can’t find You in the wind
For all the things I think I know
I know less than when I began 
For a moment , still and small
I hear you say, 
“Hush, now, wait"

-Elias Dummer, The City Harmonic