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. And 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… ~ 1 Kings 19:11-13
This really struck me when I first read it. Maybe we have it all wrong when we refer to events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires as “acts of God.”
In this story about the prophet Elijah, God wasn’t in the wind that came first. He wasn’t in the earthquake that followed. And He wasn’t in the fire after that.
What God was in was the “gentle whisper.”
With the recent tragedy in Nashville, Tennessee, it’s important to remember that God was not in the tornadoes. He is in the spirit of the resilient community that steps up to help their neighbors and the people they don’t know. He is in the compassion shown by people from miles away that have no connection to Nashville but want to step up and help.
Pray for Nashville, Tennessee today and look for ways to help after the tornadoes. Numerous ways to help the Nashville community after the devastating tornadoes are listed here on this local news website.