Know God – Part 4

Published:

January 26, 2023

We invite you to take a peek inside our weekly Light for the Way devotional series provided for staff.

Today’s devotional is part of our 2023 pastoral care theme, “Know God, Love God, Serve God.” See Know God – Part 1 and Know God – Part 2 and Know God – Part 3.

By Chaplain Jenny Schroedel, Optage Hospice

God is in the moments

“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” – 1 Kings 19:12

This week we continue with our 2023 Pastoral Care theme, “Know God, Love God, Serve God,” with another way we can know God – through our experiences.

Even prophets sometimes get discouraged. Elijah certainly did, after his efforts to persuade the people of Israel to worship the Lord instead of a false god result in both tremendous victory and threats on his life. While in hiding, he falls into despair and tells God that he has had enough.

But God doesn’t leave him there. Instead, God directs him to stand on the mountain and wait. A hurricane whips through – but God is not in the wind. Then comes an earthquake – but God is not in that either. Then a fire … still no God. Finally, God comes to Elijah through a gentle whisper.

Sometimes God comes gently into moments of our lives, meeting us with grace just as we are. In these moments, we remember that we are not alone and that life is so much more than meets the eye.

As The Presbyterian Minister Frederick Buechner wrote, “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”

God does not always need to make a dramatic entrance. Perhaps especially in those moments when we are most discouraged, God might meet us with a gentle whisper. Can you think of times in your life when you have sensed God’s nearness? Can you quiet yourself enough to hear him now?

Optage Hospice Chaplain Jenny Schroedel facilitates grief groups across PHS sites and in the larger community. She lived in Hawaii for a decade, before returning home to Minnesota. In Hawaii she worked as Director of Bereavement Services and helped found Hospice of Kona’s Maluihi Grief Center. Jenny is also an author, most recently of Naming The Child: Hope-filled Reflections on Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Death.

The Light for the Way series provides staff with an examination of a biblical reading to deepen our focus on scripture. Thank you for engaging with this series as we seek wisdom through prayer and reflection as a Christian Ministry.