Devotion 12.24.20

 "And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there a voice came to him and said, 'What are you doing here Elijah?'" 1 Kings 19:11-13

When you picture God, what do you picture? What's He look like to you? When I think of God, personally, I get an image of something along the lines of Michelangelo's painting on the Sistine Chapel, a clearly older image of God in a gray beard, hand reaching out to touch man, finger to finger.

We learn that words are worth 1000 pictures when it comes to God.  God has come to us in scripture in various forms throughout the Old Testament.  We see Him in the Garden with man, walking and talking to Adam and Eve.  We see Him as a pillar of fire and a cloud of smoke in the Exodus accounts.  We see Him as a whirlwind in Job, voice thundering, as He stands Job to account. The image of God is difficult to develop because He is vast, powerful, filling man with fear and awe when He appears.  How can you capture that image?

Elijah looks for God in the obvious:  great wind, earthquake, fire.  But God will not be contained to man's image of Him. God comes to Elijah in a whisper.

Isaiah tells us "... a little child shall lead them," (Isaiah 11:6), but our minds find that hard to believe.  A kingly and royal God coming down from His heavenly throne tossing aside power and might to be a lowly human, born as an infant to a young woman. God as a whisper and God as an infant are not the images that come to my mind when I pray or think of God, but it is the image we are given as we near Christmas Day. Fragile, small, needing everything done for Him as He relies on His mother and father, like all of us in the first few years of life.

As we prepare for Christmas Day, these are the images we are left with, and we lift a prayer of thanksgiving for God's presence in our lives as He cares for us in our own fragile state in life.