There's a kid's movie called Horton hears a Who...
"In the jungle of Nool, the elephant Horton hears a voice in a speck; he uses a clover to rescue the speck of dust and he makes contact with the Mayor of Whoville. Horton discovers that in that tiny speck there is a city crowded with creatures and he decides to leave Whoville in a safe place. However, the evil Kangaroo does not believe Horton's story and thinks he's dangerous for the children of Nool, making them believe in what they cannot see, hear, or feel, and incites the animals against Horton."
- Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
It's a cute little story, written for the most part, about the Who's trying desperately to attract the attention of Horton, who cannot see them, and only just hears them when they're blasting out at their very loudest. However, it did make me think ....
We live in a world that is very busy. Our lives are filled with demands - from work, finances, family and friends. We spend our time putting out fires - dealing with little, and not so little, emergencies in each department; scurrying from one need to the next. We worry, and plan, and make things happen.
And what little time we find for relaxation, we fill with entertainments and activities designed to stimulate our sense of well-being - netflix and movies, favourite music downloads, informative or humorous google searches and social networking, parties and cafe meet-ups with friends, gym time and outdoor energy burners like rock climbing, kite boarding and downhill bike runs. While all of these things can be uplifting and fun, they do serve to top off any available time we have left.
So that brings me to my point of contemplation ....
There is a story in 1 Kings 19 about a man called Elijah. He had battled fierce opposition in his struggle to get the story across that God wanted him to tell. He was down and deeply discouraged. And God came to him in that place in his life and gave him something incredible....
11 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. 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?”
If God speaks to us in a whisper - in a still, small voice, how can we hear him when our lives are so full?
We need quiet times in our lives so that God can get through to us! While he still speaks to us and walks with us in the battles of every day, we need to know how to tune in to him so that we can hear! When we make quiet moments in our lives, where we deliberately turn our hearts and minds to search out and focus on God - he speaks - gently and quietly. Intriguing little thought trains pop into our heads. Our feelings and mind processes are lifted. Our hearts are cleansed of the negativity that tends to pervade our usual outlook. We become more a child of the King.