Routine

Thursday 5/24/2012 6:40 AM

I am a slave to routine.  I wake up early, go for a morning jog and then have my quiet time of reading and meditating while cooling down.  I have a devotional book with assigned readings that direct my thoughts that I use each day.

I am currently enjoying a summer vacation with Ryan and Kate in Michigan.  My regular routine is disrupted.  Yesterday I wore a pair of shorts that I had worn the day before and had gotten quite sweaty.  This resulted in chafing and a painful rash on the inside of my thighs and so this morning I forewent my morning jog.  I am helping to paint the basement at Ryan and Kate’s house and yesterday we moved all the furniture and our suitcases and other materials into a different room.  In the process I seem to have misplaced my devotional book of assigned readings.  So here I sit trying to decide which passages of scripture to read and the topic on which I should focus.  Since my routine is disrupted I feel lost and out of sorts.

My disciplined routine has been a great blessing to me over the years but I wonder if I rely too much on my routine and trust God too little.  I might be a slave to routine but God is not bound to my schedule, he can speak to me through any and all circumstances.  The question is whether or not I can hear his voice when it comes to me in a different vehicle.  Elijah heard God speak through fire and great power when he confronted the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.  He then prophesied that the drought would end and there was a great storm God displayed his power and presence with wind, lightning and thunder.  But later on Mount Horeb, when fleeing from Ahab, the Lord again spoke to Elijah.  1 Kings 19:11-13 records the event.  “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”  God changed the way in which he spoke to Elijah and I’m quite certain he changes the way in which he speaks to modern day Christians too.  The question for me today is if I will have ears to hear his whisper.