The Still Small Voice in the Earthquake

1 Kings 19: 11-12

We arrived in California just in time for a message from God. It was so clear. We were at a table in Ruby’s Diner waiting for our food. Though not everyone in the restaurant heard it, everyone at our table did. 

The message was a 6.5 earthquake, the biggest in California since the Northridge earthquake that jolted my roommates and me out of bed one morning in 1994. Growing up in California, you can almost get used to them.

However, earthquakes are an interesting phenomenon for modern man, who prides himself on his scientific mind, his ability to explain, predict, change his environment. We have apps that track our weather and we feel like we can predict to the minute when the rain will start and when it will stop or when the hurricane will hit. We joke about how wrong the weatherman was—as if he can possibly know exactly. 

But earthquakes are a different story. As a native Californian, I grew up with earthquakes and I can tell you how unsettling it is to realize how far science is from actually predicting earthquakes. Unlike in the case of a hurricane, we can’t get a notice about an upcoming earthquake so we can stock up on water and food. Scientists might say they see activity, movement along a fault, but that is happening so often that there is no way to really know. There is no radar for earthquakes.  In fact, in the case of the quake we felt at Ruby’s it was followed by “aftershocks”, until one came along bigger than the first and it because the real quake and our Ruby’s quake was a “pre-shock”. Hindsight is 20/20 in the science of earthquakes. 

So, back to the message from God. The most difficult fact for a human person to absorb is this: “I am not God”. All the way back to the Garden of Eden, our temptation is to overestimate our own power. We look around and see the plants and animals over which we have so much control. We see our fellow man and notice those whom we deem weaker or less intelligent and our pride is fed. Even when we notice those who are “higher up” in whatever scheme of things we are noticing, we wonder how and when we can reach those heights. 

An earthquake is a clear statement from God: “I am God, you are not.” 

When God the Son died on a cross the earth shook. And we knew. He is God, we are not.

An earthquake is a lesson in humility. When the earth is shaking and there is no way to stop it, and no way to escape it, it is easy to feel very small and insignificant. This is a good thing. We ARE small and insignificant in comparison to God. Without His constant attention, we would cease to exist. Science can tell us a lot about how an earthquake happens, but it cannot accurately predict or prevent it. Only God has that perspective since each earthquake happens within his permissive will and, in some way, within the design of His Universe. 

A day after our Ruby’s Diner message from God, came another stronger message. All we could do was ride it out, pray for those in danger, and remember: “He is God. I am not.”