Still

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  1Kings 19:11 NIV

There was a great wind, but God was not in the wind, then an earthquake but God was not in the earthquake then a great fire but God was not in the fire either.

“And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” The King James Versions says, “a still small voice.”

I revisit this passage often as I seek His voice in all these places, yet a truer meaning had escaped me until now. Whether in scripture read and re-read or in a few old hymns, I felt the “still” in the small voice meant “always, continually, immovable or steadfast,” all of which are true. “Still” is also defined as without movement, or quiet, or stop poking your brother, as in stillness.

I have turned my face into a heavy wind, felt thunder rattle the very ground I stood on and stared into a crackling fire looking for some greater purpose. His voice is found in greatness but also in stillness when I pause to listen, even if in a corner booth surrounded by loud music and lunchtime chatter.

The “still” is a calming force, a “lie down in green pastures, lead me beside quiet waters” kind of still. Yet, gentle whispers are too often overtaken by our laundry list of supposed wants and needs.

In a moment of stillness, as a cool breeze blew across a starlit sky, I paused near the Lord and said, “I am grateful, not for anything specific, just grateful.” The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf when we do not know what to pray for, perhaps it is the same when we are simply grateful. Much is said in the quiet and mountains are moved in the stillness.

Quiet, immovable, always.

Still.