Encountering God

Does He speak to us?

One of my favourite convo with a close friend. Paraphrased from a Bisaya version. (Insert emoticon)

“What was the encounter that you had with the Lord that changed you?” a friend once asked me.

When people think about an encounter with God, they imagine an Abrahamic experience. Or a burning bush. Or a Damascus road.

There’s a common denominator among these: Radical.

Or Glorious.

Something so divine.

But some encounters aren’t so radical. Yet they’re equally powerful.

When Elijah fled for his life and was about to give up after having a victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, we can only ask, why would he? Didn’t he just witness a fire fall from heaven? But while this happened, Elijah seemed to prefer to have a pity party.

So God, being patient with him, asked him to stand on the mountain. 1 Kings 19:11–13 says:

“And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and…