ELIJAH AND THE STILL SMALL VOICE 1 Kings 19:7-12

By Ken Cooper

My life in danger, to this cave I have fled:
My God has provided and given me bread;
For foes seek my life to take it away,
So, scared to go out, and affrightened, I stay.

“What doest thou here, Elijah?” rings in thought
“Is this hiding what service to God has now brought?”
But the enemy’s strong, too strong for just me:
“Go forth and stand forward: My message you’ll see!”

A great and strong wind gusts with power and might;
It blows down huge rocks from their mountainous height.
They crash to the ground, and their impact is clear,
But deep down I know that the Lord is not there.

An earthquake shatters the rocks all around
And chasms appear in the trembling ground.
The power is awesome as I stand and stare,
But the message remains: the Lord is not there.

A fire bursts forth, and with flame the land lit:
The landscape burns bright, and rocks blister and split.
There seems no escape from this heat everywhere,
But once more this knowledge: the Lord is not there.

A strange calm replaces the forces that raged:
An infinite stillness that time never aged.
My fears fall away, for a voice sure yet small
Says clearly within me. “Fear not. God is All”.

Let quietness and stillness be my assured choice,
For only in listening can I hear God’s voice:
No matter what challenge attacks, gives alarm,
I know now so clearly, with God, there’s no harm.

God says: “I am Soul, omnipotent All,
I hold you secure: and you never can fall.
The tender touch of My infinite power
Is always besides you. I'm with you each hour.”

And just like both Moses and Joseph before,
God now directs me that I do that much more.
His radiant glory enlightens my way,
I must now go forward. I cannot just stay.

Oh, show me dear Father this way I must go,
To share with Thy children the Love all must know, -
For it’s only through Love we can express Soul:
To understand Life, is to fulfill Life’s role.

“My soul shall be joyful in my God” Isaiah 61:10
“The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares” S&H 574:27-30

©Ken Cooper 2018
kengcooper@btinternet.com
www.kencooperpoetry.com