 Scripture Thought: “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ 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. After the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” I Kings 19:11-13
Elijah, the prophet of God, is hiding in a cave to escape the evil Queen Jezebel’s edict to kill him for proclaiming the message of God. To be perfectly honest, I would have been right beside him. It’s not easy standing up proclaiming words from scripture when the tide of political correctness is against you. In verse 9 of I Kings 19, the Lord came to Elijah and asked what he was doing in the cave? Have you had those moments when you’ve hidden from your current situation and questioned the Creator of heaven and earth wondering if deliverance was on the horizon? Evidently, we aren’t alone; Elijah shared those feelings and took up residence in a cave. God’s desire is to bring us out of despair; therefore He instructs Elijah to head to the mouth of the cave and stand on the mountain in His presence and watch as He passed by. Tremendous acts of nature explode, but it appears Elijah is stuck in the cave of doubt not appreciating the three displays of majesty taking place within his reach. First, God sends a great and powerful wind; so powerful that the mountains are torn apart and the rocks are shattered! Don’t you think you might be peeping from behind your laced crossed fingers? Those the turbulent wind funnels were followed by the second display of majesty; an earthquake, but Elijah remains clinging to the side of his cave, fingers embedded in those dirt walls. Finally, a fire erupts. In all honesty, if these three events happened on the heels of one another, I’d probably be so far back in the cave seeking shelter it would have taken a week to find me or the entrance. However, scripture notes the fire gave way to a gentle whisper. It was then Elijah proceeded to the entrance of the cave to commune with God. Although numerous lessons pour from these verses, a main point to be emphasized is God deals with each of us in differently. Just as we have varying personalities and spiritual gifts, so are our personal situations God uses to teach and mold us. He might speak in a turbulent encounter as demonstrated by the wind which tore apart mountains and shattered rocks, or an earthquake occurrence which breaks our stubborn will; while another walks through an all consuming fire of intense trials. Whatever the circumstance or event, if we quiet our activities and our multitasking lifestyles, God will speak in a gentle whisper. Why a whisper, you ask? Maybe it's during those times when we finally realize there is nothing humanly possible we can do to change our status or situation, we decide to quiet our hearts and minds and simply listen. Our Creator, our Father in Heaven will guide us through those challenging and arduous times to the quiet shores of His waiting arms. Lord, train our ears to hear your voice and never delay coming when you call. When faced with opposition, doubts and worry assist us with courage and wisdom to follow your direction. Only when we are fully immersed in your Word will we be strengthened to face our foes. Use us to bring honor and glory to the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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 My sincere thanks to those of you who have followed me these past five weeks as we have walked the journey of a pandemic that kept us close at home! May we continue to pray for those who have been infected and those still being quarantined during this time. Let's pray that soon God will send a cure that can be taken by all ages and rid our nation and our world of this virus.
I don't believe I have much to share on this blog today (my viewers did not offer a lot in the way of recipes, book titles or conversation!). I will be taking down this particular blog and replacing it with devotionals very soon. But once again, thank you for allowing me into your iPhones and computers to rattle on and keep you company! God bless! Being true to my word, here are some of the tips we were given on the Facebook Live event this past Tuesday, May 5th! First, Mary Nolte mentioned her sister had made quite a lot of pillowcase dresses for the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Box project already this year. I asked if she would pass along a picture of some information. Mary clarified that her sister didn't use pillowcases, she uses bandanas! So, here you go in case you want to give it a whirl!  From my sister: “This is two bandanas and two yards of bias tape. It's for the 2-4 yr olds at Operation Christmas Child (OCC). I like making these because the bandanas are "finished" and the bandanas cost about $1 each. I bought some on clearance for 25 cents.” (I’m still working on getting the pillowcase picture.) A sweet relative of mine, Kathryn Mason (whom I have now figured out is my Aunt's great-granddaughter!), is selling a product from a company called Arbonne. This is a nutritional, skin care and makeup products that are all made from plant based ingredients. They are vegan and free from 2000 ingredients. Everything is organic and free from animal cruelty. You can contact her for more information at http://KathrynMason.arbonne.com/ Look her up and see what this up and coming company has to offer! Kathryn also mentioned she and her children were painting rocks. I asked if she would share the results...what a great project with kids!  I have not received any recipes or names of good books, but we'll wait until another time. Thanks for sharing, ladies! God bless and have a wonderful sunny day! (Take advantage of it Pittsburgh...the rest of the week isn't lookin' so hot!)
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AuthorJudith "Cookie" White is the founder of The Sounding Board Ministry. She is the author of two devotional books which are available on this site. Archives
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