“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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper…” 1 Kings 19: 11-12
When I arrived in India, I was ready to see God move in big ways. I was eager to see hearts turned to Christ and lives transformed. I expected obstacles to be removed, God’s voice to be clear, and to always know my purpose in ministry. I thought God would speak through a mighty wind, make His presence known through a great earthquake and show His power through a great fire.
In the months before I came to India, I had seen God at work in mighty ways. He gave me obvious direction and made preparation for the trip easy, providing all that I needed quickly and abundantly. He was teaching me and preparing my heart. I heard Him like a mighty wind, felt His presence like an earthquake, and saw Him moving as fire. I assumed that He would continue working in this way when I got to India, but a few weeks into the trip, I realized it wasn’t going to be that way. I became frustrated and discouraged – confused as to why God wasn’t changing me or using me. I was straining to hear His voice, to see His power. I was looking for something big, obvious, loud.
One evening at the orphanage in Ajmer, I was sitting on the porch holding a little girl named Ruth. We were looking at the stars and singing together. Every few minutes she would push my hair behind my ears for me. Sitting there, in the calm and quiet, God spoke to my heart. He made me realize that I had been seeking only big things and loud answers from God, and in doing so, had missed out on His soft whispers. I realized that that very moment, simply holding a little orphan girl, could be the whole reason I came to India.
Since then, God has been teaching me to hear and see Him in new ways. Hot so much through obvious answers to prayer or big change, but in the not so noticeable things. I don’t hear Him in the great wind, but in the orphan’s prayers, so loud that they drown out a passing train. I don’t feel His presence in the earthquake, but in a small house church, where a few believers gather to fellowship and pray. I don’t see Him in the fire, but in the smile of an orphan when he opens a box to find a brand new pair of shoes. I don’t see huge miracles, but I’m learning to see the small ones: the fact that I still don’t have lice or that I was able to play soccer for almost two hours at orphanage in spite of my asthma.
Hearing God’s gentle whisper isn’t easy, but I’m learning to hear Him in the places and people I least expected. I’m learning that God doesn’t always work in big ways or speak loudly, but He works through the simple and ordinary, and speaks through gentle whispers.
