By: Lorraine Eastman, Legacy Pastor
Summers in the desert cause something we refer to as The Blowdryer Effect. This occurs when temperatures climb well into the triple digits and the winds are blowing at 25 to 45 mph or higher. You may have also heard it referred to as a dry heat.
When the winds calm down and the temperature begins to change, that’s when you sense our seasons are about to go through a transformation. There is something special about the spring and fall in the desert southwest. You feel it most in the early mornings or late evenings when there’s a chill in the air and just a slight breeze. The air has a crispness to it. That’s when most of us, regardless of allergies, open our windows and doors, allowing fresh air to gently move through our homes. There is something magical about the breeze as it glides through each room, revitalizing everything it touches.
One of my favorite things is getting up early in the morning with a cup of coffee and sitting on the patio. On those quiet, cool mornings when the gentle breeze blows, I get the sense of God’s presence all around me. There’s a tranquility with each light gust, reminding me that God is there, calming my thoughts, giving me strength and comfort. I am reminded of Genesis 3:8 (NLT), “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.” If we simply close our eyes, feeling the cool breezes and sensing God’s presence, the Holy Spirit may move past, wanting to engage. If we wait quietly, patiently, we just might hear his whisper in the breeze.
Elijah experienced God’s presence after fleeing for his life from Jezabel. Completely out of energy after traveling all day he sat down under a tree, praying God would take his life. God had other plans for Elijah and, instead, sent an angel with some UberEats to strengthen him for the forty days of travel he had ahead of him. Elijah eventually arrives at a cave on Mt Sinai where God commanded him to stand before Him. Out of nowhere came a mighty windstorm, then a horribly loud earthquake, then a firestorm that burned everything in its path, yet God was not in any of those events. Elijah stood at the mouth of the cave, and that’s when he heard the sound of God’s voice. It wasn’t the loud, commanding, booming voice he expected after all he had experienced. Instead, It was a low, gentle whisper in the breeze (1 Kings 19:1-13).
There have been countless times in my life where I have longed to hear from God. But if you’re like me, we tend to look for him in the windstorms, the earthquakes, and the firestorms of life and we miss him speaking to us in the gentle whispers or the cool breeze. To hear Jesus or to simply sense his presence, it requires that we slow down in those moments and stop looking for God to hit us over the head with a 2 by 4 (he only does that in extreme circumstances). He wants us to put our agendas aside, ask him to examine our hearts, and repent of anything that is brought out. The hard part is waiting patiently for his gentle, quiet nudge that can only be sensed when we tune out the world around us.
What storms in your life are so loud right now that they are drowning out the whisper of Jesus? Is it the storm of busyness, the storm of not being enough, the storm of health concerns, the storm of finances, the storm of family and relational turmoil, the storm of anxiety, depression or loss, or maybe the storm of addiction in your family or personally? We all face storms of some kind, whether they are short-lived blowdryer-effect storms, longer tornados, or full-on hurricanes that can seem to hang on forever. No matter the storms we are currently facing or will face in the future, Jesus will walk with us through the storms of life together. We simply have to look for the breeze to find him.
I’m reminded of what started as a simple trip across a lake that ended in something far more transformational for Jesus’ disciples. Jesus was taking a nap, and the disciples became panicked as a massive storm came down on the Sea of Galilee. I have personally seen a storm on the the Sea of Galilee, and I cannot imagine being in a small boat during even a small squall. The disciples wake Jesus in a panic, asking if he cares if they are dying. I can just see it: in the midst of the madness, Jesus calmly stands up frustrated with his disciples for their lack of faith, rebuking the wind and the sea, saying, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased and a great calm came over everything. The disciples questioned who Jesus was, that the wind and the sea obeyed him. For the first time, they saw the full magnitude of who Jesus was (Mark 4:35-41).
When the winds of change, the winds of disaster, or the winds that are just making a mess of things are moving through our lives, Jesus is there saying, “Peace! Be still!” The key is, those words are meant for us, not the storms in our lives. Those storms will continue to rage, but with Jesus by our side, we will never be alone. We’ll have his calming presence, his peace guiding us as we work through any problems that arise. Matthew ends his gospel with these words from Jesus just after his resurrection, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NLT).
It’s in those quiet moments when the storms of life have begun to settle down, the dust has cleared away, and the winds have started to calm, that if we look back to where we were in the middle of that storm, we may actually be able to see where Jesus walked with us through the mess. Cherish those moments as they bring clarity and purpose. As the cool breeze blows across your face, feel his presence, thank Him for his love, his care, his encouragement, and sit with him for a while — and just maybe, you’ll hear his whisper in the breeze.