The Responses of God (Illustration/Story)
- 1819
Max Lucado in his book A Gentle Thunder writes:
Once there was a man who dared God to speak.
Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God.
And I will follow.
Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God.
And I will fight.
Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God.
And I will listen.
And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to the sea
And waited for God to speak.
And God heard the man, so God answered.
He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church.
He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.
He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul.
And God waited for the man to respond.
And he waited . . .
And he waited . . .
And waited.
But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts;
Bricks and not lives, seas and not souls,
he decided that God had done nothing.
Finally, he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?
And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing?
God’s ways are not our ways. Don’t be surprised if you are waiting to hear God speak and he responds in a way you are not expecting.