He had had enough. He was exhausted and ready to die. Everyone in Israel and their dog had turned away from the Lord, and that had worked him into a lather.

He, on the other hand, stood out like a neon sign, totally devoted to the God of Israel, serving Him zealously.

In a spectacular show of God’s power, he had drawn a line in the sand, putting the kibosh on Israel’s indecisiveness.

He had demonstrated that the God of Israel was the only true God.

At his prayer, God had sent fire to consume the thoroughly drenched sacrifice, humiliating the prophets of Baal, draining color from their faces.

The jaw-dropping display of God’s power had jolted the Israelites back to their senses, stirring repentance.

He had then put a bow on his victory by executing the prophets of Baal, every single one of them.

And now the King’s wife Jezebel was nipping at his heels, raring to take him out. He couldn’t take it anymore- he was plum tuckered out. Better off dead.

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said,

“It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4)

Faced with Jezebel’s vicious threats, Elijah’s courage had wilted like a forgotten houseplant.

God had, however, mercifully met him in his sullen state. He had fed him, reinvigorating his physical strength before summoning him to Mount Horeb.

He was ready to meet God and state his case. But how would God appear to Him?

• A voracious wind tore into the mountains, shattering the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind.
• An earthquake sent shockwaves through the ground, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
• Then came a searing fire; surely the Lord would be in the fire, wouldn’t He? He had, after all, previously answered by fire, consuming the bull sacrifice at Mt. Carmel. But the Lord was not in the fire.
• Then came a still small voice. And that’s where the Lord was.

The Almighty God was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire but in a still small voice.

“How unusual, strange, unconventional, off-kilter, and unorthodox!” Elijah may have muttered beneath his breath.

How could God’s thunderous voice be relayed in a still small voice?

Elija learned a herculean lesson that day: sometimes God shows up through the least likely channels, and if we are not careful, we can miss Him.

A High Affinity for the Foolish and Weak

There will be times when God shows up as a consuming fire, alright, but there will be plenty of times when He knocks your socks off by answering in the strangest, unusual, and unexpected ways.

Both the lofty and simple ways serve Him. We miss Him when we try to box Him into our human, predictable ways.

We love it when He manifests in the grand, lofty ways, forgetting that He has a high affinity for the weak, despised, lowly things.

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the mighty things.” (1 Corinthians 1:27)

God will often show up in simple, wimpy, unexpected ways just to remind us that He is God and we are not.

He does it so that none of us can gloat in our flesh or glory in our understanding.

David’s Sling and Stones

Saul’s armor was too bulky for David, so he declined it. Goliath scoffed at him as he approached, wielding a sling and stones.

“So the Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” (1 Samuel 17:43).

David knew that God could use a sling and stone as much as He could use a sword, spear, and javelin.

Victory wasn’t hinged on the weapon of war but in the name of the Lord, and He had come in that name.

God had chosen the “foolish and weak” sling and stone to put to shame Goliath’s mighty weaponry.

Gideon’s Paraphernalia

God trimmed down Gideon’s army to a measly 300 men. Instead of swords and spears, they carried trumpets, pitchers, and torches -outrageously foolish and weak paraphernalia for a battle.

Laughable. Knee-slapping funny.

But because God was on their side, they got a resounding victory against the Midianites (Judges 7), their outrageous paraphernalia notwithstanding.

Joshua’s Unconventional Strategy

Joshua also employed an unconventional strategy in bringing down the walls of Jericho.

As opposed to flexing his military prowess, he asked the Israelites to go around the city once a day for six days.

On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times with the priests blowing trumpets, and the people shouting on the seventh round (Joshua 6:1-21).

And that’s how the walls keeled over.

You and I

We often prefer the spectacular ways of God: the wind, earthquake, and fire. We succumb to discouragement when God doesn’t show up through any of them.

We forget that sometimes God will use a sling and a stone. Sometimes he will gain victory through trumpets, pitchers, and torches.

Some walls will only cave in after a shout. Because He is God and fits in the tightest of spaces.

Why are You Discouraged?

Have you been there? Pouting and sucking your thumb because God didn’t answer in a particular pre-determined way?

Perhaps your eyes were fixed on a specific door that failed to fling open. You expected to see the wind, earthquake, or fire, but there was none.

You waved the white flag and retracted into your shell like a turtle.

“Why did God forget me? Was He pulling wool over my eyes all along?” You lamented.

The Israelites were there too. Feeling forlorn and dejected because God hadn’t answered in the manner they expected.

God punctured their discouragement with some piercing questions.

“Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40: 27-28, NIV).

God drew out their problem like a thorn stuck in the foot and dangled it high enough for them to see. They had misunderstood His ways, thereby judging Him wrongly.

He explained that though they, mere mortals, could grow weary and have their patience balancing on a knife-edge, He was different. He never grows faint or weary.

They expected Him to answer in a predictable, conventional way and forgot that His ways are unfathomable.

His ways are past finding out!

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33)

He is God, We Are Not.

His ways are higher than our ways, just as the heavens are higher than the earth (Isaiah 55: 8,9) – a very massive, mind-boggling disparity by any standards.

He is not a man that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind (Numbers 23:19)

Even when we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13)

Reflection

• Are you downcast because God hasn’t answered the way you expected? Have you assumed that all is lost?
• Have you expected Him to answer only through the spectacular: the wind, earthquake, and fire? Has your faith wilted like tulips in the heat?
• Remember that God loves to showcase His power in the weak, foolish, and despised things. Because both the lofty and simple channels serve His purpose.

So chin up, beloved. No more drooping shoulders. Straighten that spine. Allow faith to untangle every knot of worry. Fluff your feathers and reclaim your stride.

Your God has not failed. He fits in the tightest of spaces.