Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

• 1 Kings 19:11-13

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.

• Isaiah 49:15-16

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

• Joshua 1:9

“Sometimes we feel distant from God.  At times we even feel abandoned by him in the midst of circumstances, messes, and troubles. He is always with us, but we often don’t have time for him in our busy days. In these moments, make some space for God to enter into your life…”

• PrayerPoints, Ken Petersen, General Editor

“If your heart has grown cold, it is because you have moved away from the fire of His presence.”

• Beth Moore

For those who have read my posts where I misquoted Beth Moore, I found her quote above.

But I wrote a few years ago that with God guiding me, I did not anticipate writer’s block.  Since then, I have struggled with quiz ideas and topics for Babs and Harold to discuss.  Most everything else has been running smoothly.  But lately, I have been writing about things that came to me in a recent trip.  But now, the free spaces, meaning not tied to any type of series, have left me staring at the walls and pacing back and forth.  Odd, I used the expression ‘staring at the walls,’ and God promises us through Isaiah that our walls are right before Him.  Hmmm. He should know that my wall is blank at the moment.

But then, the Beth Moore quote applies.  God is still looking at my wall in front of Him, but I have moved away from the heat, that energy that God’s inspiring fire produces.  So, God is not to blame here.  It’s on me.

When this comes out, I will be having a surgical procedure the next day.  The colorectal surgeon said he was going to “fix” my fistula that is in an unfortunate place.  I sit on it.  But the procedure in January was the first half of the process.  The correction of the problem happens tomorrow.  For two months (should be six weeks, but the doctor was unavailable one week and only had the same time as our church’s prayer meeting the next week, so nearly two months after the first procedure with a temporary “rubber band” that irritates where I sit down.

And I have been praying wrong.  Instead of asking God to make the irritation more manageable, I should be asking God to make my writing more efficient when I have less irritation.

I refuse to call it pain.  On a scale of one to ten. As a mathematical purist, I would have to say one, but then I do not call it a pain.  The irritation causes inflammation which can be a pain of one to two.  But when various body parts obtain sympathy pain for an irritation that is not really a pain…

I feel that I have turned into Mr. Gumby on the various sketches in Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  Mr. Gumby has been played by the entire cast of the old show, but I think Michael Palin was the first.  Costume: White shirt, a sleeveless sweater, pants held up by suspenders and far too short, and a handkerchief on his head with an overhand knot in each corner.  He has a mustache and glasses.  He looks into the camera and says, “MY BRAIN HURTS!” in a strained voice.

Yeah.  The ideas for new posts do not come smoothly when you think you are having a Mr. Gumby moment.

And I have myself to blame.

After the same discomfort or even pain, since this next procedure is slightly more invasive, I will focus on God helping me to be more efficient when I have those non-Mr. Gumby moments.

But the title talks about God’s voice speaking softly.  I have had people ask me why?  If God made the thunder, why does he not speak more loudly?

My own personal answer has always been that God wishes for us to seek Him.  When we have too many distractions, or our “brain hurts” in those Mr. Gumby moments, we do not, or recently might not be, listening intently for the small whisper.  Like I said about my prayers, I need clarity and focus when I am having a moment of feeling better so that my writing is more efficient, but that efficiency really comes best in listening to what God is saying.

I hope this video works.  Meet Mr. Gumby.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.