Today we do not experience great manifestations of God as Moses did many years ago. God has not spoken to us out of a burning bush and neither have we heard His voice as He walked in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden. We have not looked up over our place of worship and seen the Shekinah glory of God in a visible way. But God does reach into our hearts and into our life and speak to us through gentle whispers.

There are so many times when we push aside what God is trying to do in our midst and what He is trying to say to us. We dim out His voice by focusing on other things that claim our attention. We tend to allow the noise of the world to drown out His voice. God works quietly.

We oftentimes search for God frantically amid the storm, when troubles blow hard and the fires of adversity surround us. Yet, God is speaking to us in His own quiet way, and we are missing the message. We have not sensitized our hearts and souls to recognize His gentle whispers.

One of the glaring observations we find in Scripture is that often in the middle of crowds and dramatic success, Jesus would simply disappear. Sometimes He took His disciples to some remote area to get away from the hustle and pushing crowds where He could commune in the silence of nature. God moves quietly.

"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." I Kings 19: 11-12.

When you are tempted to think God has deserted you, listen for gentle whispers.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

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Blessings to all!