Where To Find God

Not too long ago I was doing my quiet time and the Lord showed me something profound.

I am one that struggles with worry and fear. As a result, my mind tends to focus on those things. I'm sure alot of the reasons come from old, unhealed wounds, but I'm sure another reason is that I tend to look at the circumstances, rather than the one in control of the circumstances. I have to constantly surrender my fears to God and seek His encouragement.

One day, I came across this verse from 1 Kings 19:

"...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. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The Lord asked me to draw a map. On the map, a drew a road that had three paths connected to it. You could either take those paths, or continue straight to the destination. The road represented the mind..and the paths represented the choices of the direction we could take it.

One path led to the earthquake. The earthquake represented trials that can shake your faith. Usually they are very devastating.

The second path led to the wind. The wind represented the circumstances, and how the enemy will use them to confuse you. Typically questions like "What if?" or thoughts like "You'll never get the money you need, you'll never this, you'll never that." It basically churns up all these thoughts that can really discourage you.

The third path led to the fire. The fire represents trial that we go through. As it says in James: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." But that is very often hard to do sometimes. It's like your world is being challenged and stretched, and it hurts. I know for myself, I tend to get depressed.

And finally, the raod itself led to the whisper. It is here, where God and His presence reside. And what is in God's presence? What is in a whisper? Peace. Quiet. Rest. Tranquility. Encouragement. Stregth. Hope. Joy. And faith.

You see, when we look to God, we don't look to our circumstances. We look to the one who is greater than they are. When we look to God, we use faith. Faith will beat out worry every time. It's in God's presnce you hear "Everything is going to be okay." "You will get through this, and you will grow as a result." "I am with you always." 

I look at it like the eye of a hurricane. There is a strom raging all around, but in the eye, it's peaceful. Even though you are surrounded by a hurricane, in the eye, you are still. And that's where God wants us. He doesn't want us to worry. He doesn't want us to be afraid. He simply wants us. He is your Heavenly father...the best father there is. 

So when things happen and you start to worry, remember this. You ahve control of where your mind goes. It does not have control of you. Focus on God...run to the whisper. That is where peace resides, and the fire, wind, and earthquakes can't touch you.