This picture was taken in the middle of a rice field in Tanzania. This was a beautiful tree. I gazed at it every time we passed. I remember wondering what was so special about this little, old, gnarled tree. Why does it keep grabbing my attention and refusing to let go? Then one day it finally clicked. My mind scurried into action as understanding was brought forth. This little old tree is a lot like me.
“Austin, Austin, AUSTIN! Get up! You need to get ready or you’ll be late.” My mom was in frantic hurry as she yelled at me to get out of bed. After my initial startled state left me, I proceeded to slowly roll out of bed. One eye was alert and open to the day; the other was still in sleep mode. I was slow in getting out of bed because I had stayed up late the night before. It was the night before my flight to London where we would have an eight hour layover before proceeding to Tanzania. I know what you’re thinking ‘I was up late because of my excitement and nerves.’ Well, that’s partially true, but not entirely. I was up late searching for God’s voice. Yes you heard correctly: I was listening for God’s voice. I thought I really needed to get close to God before my trip. He was feeling very distant. I was looking for some huge thunder and then God’s mighty sound. I stared out my window waiting for God to appear in the clouds and talk to me. I know it sounds silly, but I was desperate to hear from God. I felt all alone. This is why that tree spoke to me so much. It is all alone in the middle of a rice field not hearing from anything– just as I was all alone searching desperately to hear God’s words speak to my heart. I was so detached from God, so desperate to see his hand or voice somewhere, anywhere. I rushed to look for it.
I arrived in Africa thinking that for sure I would find God and his wonderful, powerful voice there. So I started searching. I listened for it in the giant blue Livingston Mountains that reached up and pierced the clouds like a ship through icebergs. However, I didn’t hear God’s voice there. Next, I tried the great Lake Nyasa whose waves thundered against the beach. But, it was not there either. Finally, I stared up into the great black abyss and saw seen millions of stars, with a great milky white film that covered them. It was the Milky Way Galaxy. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen in my life. It stretched halfway across the African sky. I looked and looked and listened very hard, but I didn’t hear from God.
That night I went to sleep disappointed, thinking I would never hear from God. I had seen God do great things, but I had not heard from Him. I felt so bad, so alone, so abandoned. The next day I woke up and was sick as a dog. I ran back and forth from the bathroom every ten minutes. It made me so sad because that day they were going hiking up a mountain, and I thought that it might be a place I could hear God’s voice, but it was not meant to be. I sat on the side of the soccer field longing so much to hear or feel God. I knew he wouldn’t come to me while I was sitting sick on the side of a soccer field watching some little kids play soccer with a paper bag. The sun was shining down on the field and I was sitting in the shade. My head swiveled around and around. I looked at the kids and at the shade. My head slowly moved up, and I looked at the leaves as they swayed in the gentle breeze. THEN IT HAPPENED. I heard from God. It didn’t sound like a big roaring thunder or a band of trumpets. No, it was just a little calm voice in my head. It was clam, gentle, and soothing like a breeze on a hot summer day. Suddenly, I was not alone. He was with me, and I was with Him. He had been speaking to me the whole time I just never listened. It was a glorious feeling. I was not alone. I was with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. As we traveled back to our rooms I continued to marvel at the still small voice of the Lord. As I looked over toward the tree that was all alone in rice field, I saw a gentle breeze blowing its branches. I smiled.
1 Kings 19:11-14 “…A great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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 a sound of a gentle blowing…And behold, a voice came to him…”
The above picture was taken in the middle of a rice field in Tanzania. This was a beautiful tree. I gazed at it every time we passed. I remember wondering what was so special about this little, old, gnarled tree. Why does it keep grabbing my attention and refusing to let go? Then one day it finally clicked. My mind scurried into action as understanding was brought forth. This little old tree is a lot like me.
“Austin, Austin, AUSTIN! Get up! You need to get ready or you’ll be late.” My mom was in frantic hurry as she yelled at me to get out of bed. After my initial startled state left me, I proceeded to slowly roll out of bed. One eye was alert and open to the day; the other was still in sleep mode. I was slow in getting out of bed because I had stayed up late the night before. It was the night before my flight to London where we would have an eight hour layover before proceeding to Tanzania. I know what you’re thinking ‘I was up late because of my excitement and nerves.’ Well, that’s partially true, but not entirely. I was up late searching for God’s voice. Yes you heard correctly: I was listening for God’s voice. I thought I really needed to get close to God before my trip. He was feeling very distant. I was looking for some huge thunder and then God’s mighty sound. I stared out my window waiting for God to appear in the clouds and talk to me. I know it sounds silly, but I was desperate to hear from God. I felt all alone. This is why that tree spoke to me so much. It is all alone in the middle of a rice field not hearing from anything– just as I was all alone searching desperately to hear God’s words speak to my heart. I was so detached from God, so desperate to see his hand or voice somewhere, anywhere. I rushed to look for it.
I arrived in Africa thinking that for sure I would find God and his wonderful, powerful voice there. So I started searching. I listened for it in the giant blue Livingston Mountains that reached up and pierced the clouds like a ship through icebergs. However, I didn’t hear God’s voice there. Next, I tried the great Lake Nyasa whose waves thundered against the beach. But, it was not there either. Finally, I stared up into the great black abyss and saw seen millions of stars, with a great milky white film that covered them. It was the Milky Way Galaxy. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen in my life. It stretched halfway across the African sky. I looked and looked and listened very hard, but I didn’t hear from God.
That night I went to sleep disappointed, thinking I would never hear from God. I had seen God do great things, but I had not heard from Him. I felt so bad, so alone, so abandoned. The next day I woke up and was sick as a dog. I ran back and forth from the bathroom every ten minutes. It made me so sad because that day they were going hiking up a mountain, and I thought that it might be a place I could hear God’s voice, but it was not meant to be. I sat on the side of the soccer field longing so much to hear or feel God. I knew he wouldn’t come to me while I was sitting sick on the side of a soccer field watching some little kids play soccer with a paper bag. The sun was shining down on the field and I was sitting in the shade. My head swiveled around and around. I looked at the kids and at the shade. My head slowly moved up, and I looked at the leaves as they swayed in the gentle breeze. THEN IT HAPPENED. I heard from God. It didn’t sound like a big roaring thunder or a band of trumpets. No, it was just a little calm voice in my head. It was clam, gentle, and soothing like a breeze on a hot summer day. Suddenly, I was not alone. He was with me, and I was with Him. He had been speaking to me the whole time I just never listened. It was a glorious feeling. I was not alone. I was with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. As we traveled back to our rooms I continued to marvel at the still small voice of the Lord. As I looked over toward the tree that was all alone in rice field, I saw a gentle breeze blowing its branches. I smiled.
1 Kings 19:11-14 “…A great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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 a sound of a gentle blowing…And behold, a voice came to him…”
August 20, 2009 at 2:40 am
Wow! What a reminder in such a busy world.
August 21, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Awesome! The silence of the written word speaks loud and clear if we but listen. This touched me deeply. Thanks for the blessing.
August 25, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Wow! How soon we forget that He is always with us . . . permeating our very beings. Such a beautiful encounter. May we seek Him in the simple, breathtaking things in life . . . not only abroad, but in the beauty that surrounds us everyday. Thanks for sharing.