Proximity not volume

God’s whisper is louder than the raging waves and the human voices that so often drown him out, writes Malcolm Duncan

Malcom Duncan

I need God’s reassurance. Whether it’s just before walking onto a stage, stepping into an important meeting, or entering the sacred space of bereavement, I need to be reminded of the presence and the mercy of God. Lots of people assume that I am a confident person. That’s a wrong assumption. Deep inside myself, in a space that only the Holy Spirit and I inhabit, I am nervous every time I am called on to speak of God. It doesn’t matter whether I speak to two people or hundreds or thousands, I live with this hesitancy and I think it is healthy.

I think it is because I am convinced of what Paul describes as ‘the foolishness of preaching’ (1 Cor 1:21, NRSVA). I will never fully understand how or why the infinite one speaks through a fallen and fragile one like me. I do, however, believe that God has called and equipped me – and that makes all the difference.

In his book, ‘The Foolishness of Preaching: Proclaiming the Gospel against the Wisdom of the World’ (William B Eerdmans, 1997), Robert F Capon observes that, “All God needs to make a universe is nothing; all he needs to make a preacher is a nobody” (p26). I can hear every pastor reading this let out a sigh of relief. We aren’t supposed to have confidence in ourselves. We are called to have confidence in him.

What’s true of preaching, for me, is true of life. I need God’s strength. In my family, in my leading, stepping into new seasons and letting go of old ones, ministering across our movement or across the street, if God isn’t with me, I cannot do it. But if God is leading, then my inadequacy is swallowed up by his adequacy. When God leads us into something, we can face it head on. If I know God is with me, then (in the words of King David) “I can crush a troop… I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29, NRSVA). If I know God has called me, then I can do it.

That’s where proximity and volume come head-to-head. I have to decide which is more important. There are so many voices that we need to turn down – you aren’t good enough, you are not the right person for the job, personal insecurity, pride, self-reliance; the voices of those who are threatened by you and those you are threatened by. Any voice, anywhere, that is more important to you than God’s voice is too loud.

There is an incident in the life of Elijah that helps us with this. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah has fled Mount Carmel and is shut away at Mount Horeb. Tired, hungry, dejected and almost certainly suffering from mental and physical burnout, or a kind of PTSD, he wants to die. He has had enough. Then God comes. And that changes everything. I have heard this passage preached so powerfully so many times. But there is something about it that I don’t want you to miss, because it has been so helpful to me. God wasn’t in the earthquake, or the fire or the hurricane. God was in the silence. But don’t be fooled. This is not a lesson about volume. This is a lesson of proximity. God comes close to Elijah. In fact he comes so close that Elijah can hear God’s whisper above the howling, raging noise of the storms.

That is the lesson. God is close. In fact, he is so close, that he lives in us by his Spirit. And because of that, his whisper is louder than the raging waves, the whirling winds and the human voices that so often can drown him out.

Stop for a minute... pause in this moment... listen... he is close... his presence is enough. Let God define you, not your circumstances or your ministry.

Malcolm leads Dundonald Elim.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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