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"GOD SHOWED UP TONIGHT" Every time that I've heard someone say "God showed up" I heard it said in the context of an emotional worship service and invitation. No one ever says it in the context of a good sermon or an edifying Bible study. This is because fundamentalism has placed far too much emphasis on drama and visible results. If there is drama and visible results, then "God showed up." If not, then God didn't show up, even though He said He did (Mat. 18:20). That's Baptist fundamentalism 101, even though few will ever admit it. Well, keep reading and I'll try to show you something of great importance. After decapitating hundreds of her false prophets (I Kgs. 18), Elijah received word from the wicked Jezebel that she would have him killed within twenty-four hours (I Kgs. 19:2). This scared the daylights out of the man, so he fled for his life into the wilderness, sat down under a juniper tree, and then he asked God to take his life. An angel fed and strengthened him, so he went another forty days and came to the mount of God. It was there that the word of the Lord would come to Elijah, but not in the manner that one might expect. We are told in I Kings 19:11-12: “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” The Lord wasn’t in the earth, wind, and fire (Earth, Wind, and Fire was also a 1970’s rock group, by the way; God wasn’t in that either.). He was in the still small voice. My, what a contrast to all the noise and activity of the previous chapter! God doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. Most everyone knows that God can thunder and shake the earth at will, so why should He do it? Is it not more needful for us to know that He can also reveal Himself to us in the quietest and calmest ways? Is He not God of all, a God of the valleys as well as a God of the hills? After all, we are reminded of this in the very next chapter: “And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (I Kgs. 20:28) Too many Christians have the false notion that God doesn’t show up unless He shows out, and this often blinds them from the greatest blessings. Friend, don't make the mistake of many by missing out on God's still small voice while looking for religious drama and emotionalism. Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Mat. 18:20) God can show up without showing out, and He usually does. Don't miss Him while expecting something bigger and more dramatic.