1 Kings 19:11-12

I love this passage. It's particularly good in the NIV translation, because it describes God speaking to Elijah as "a gentle whisper", after all these other massive things have happened. It reminds me of a joke that I once heard (I don't know where it comes from, but whatever)...

A man sat on the roof of his house to avoid flood water that was quickly rising. He prayed to God to save him from his predicament. 

A little while later, a man in a rowing boat came along and said to the man, "Come in my boat, I'll row you to safety."

But the man said, "No, thank you, I have asked God to save me and He will save me."

So the man in the rowing boat left and the flood waters continued to rise. A little while later two men in a speedboat came by and offered to help the man, but again he declined. 

Finally, a helicopter came and offered to save the man, but once again he refused, saying that he had prayed to God for help and that God would help him.

The flood waters continued to rise until they reached the roof and the man drowned.  

When he was in Heaven, he asked God, "Why did You not save me when I asked You for help?"

And God replied, "I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you want?"

This passage reminds me of that because Elijah is expecting God to speak to him, and then all of these massive things happen - there's a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but God isn't in any of those things. Then God speaks to Elijah in "a gentle whisper". It makes me think of how lots of people expect to see God in a great big way, that when God is acting in their lives they'll know that God has acted. But in reality, God could be working in our lives in the smallest way, because after all, God is concerned with the small things in our lives as well as the big things.