Where Are You, God?
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing 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 there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.1 Kings 9:11-12
When was the last time you questioned the presence of God in your life? Questioning is not the same as doubting. When we question, we are usually doing so from a place of faith because we believe that God is here, we wonder why certain things have happened. “If God was here, why did my father have to die?” These are not cases of doubt, but rather invitations to a deeper faith. Elijah also wondered where God was, and the above passage from Scripture tells us clearly — in the “tiny whispering sound.”
Brothers and sisters, God does not come to us with a loud, booming voice. Rather, He comes to us in the silence. When we are unable to sleep in the middle of the night because something is on our mind, He comes to us. When we are agonizing over a difficult decision, He comes to us. When are suffering injustice and persecution silently, He comes to us. When we are lamenting and grieving over a tremendous loss, He comes to us. When we are walking along the street and enjoying the sun on our faces, He comes to us. When we are sitting or kneeling in Church praying, He comes to us. When we gaze upon the tabernacle or the Eucharist, He comes to us. At every moment when we call out to Him, He comes to us, in the silence of our hearts. “Here I am, my beloved. I am with you.”
Let us practice being in the silence today, brothers and sisters. Whether it be 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 or more minutes, let us allow the Lord to come to us by opening up our hearts to Him. So that when we ask, “Where are you, God?” we might hear that “tiny whispering sound” say to us, “Here I am, I am with you. Tell me, tell me all that is on your heart. Come to me, and I will give you rest.”
