PERSONALITY TEST # 3*
Four people were sitting on a porch in their rocking chairs – sitting there near the end of their lives. The conversation came up about whether any of them had ever experienced God. And all four answered, “Yes.”
The first person, a woman around 86, said, “I was in a tornado once. We lived at the bottom of a mountain and the tornado roared into the mountain. The winds were howling. Trees fell. Rocks slid. I was scared to my bones and screamed out, ‘God!’ Well, we survived, but let me tell you, ‘There is a God!’ All my life after that I knew the roar of God.”
The second person, a woman around 91, said she was once in an earthquake. “We all screamed out, ‘God help us!’ And obviously, we survived. If you’ve ever been in a big earthquake, let me tell you, you know there is a God.”
The third person, an old man who was almost 90, said, “I was caught in a forest fire once and everything – EVERYTHING was on fire and we lost everything – EVERYTHING and we all screamed out, ‘God where are you!’ and the wind shifted and we survived. We lost our house but thank God we lived. Let me tell you. I too know there is a God.”
The fourth person, an old man named, Elijah, said, “I've been in tornadoes, earthquakes and fires, but let me tell you when I really experienced God. It was during the war and I was escaping. I was hiding out. People were chasing me. I climbed this mountain where I knew there was this cave – high, high up on the mountain. While up there God came in the sound of a gentle breeze. I knew it was God. I went and stood at the entrance to the cave. And God said to me, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ I said, ‘I am running and hiding for my life.’ And we talked and we listened to each other. I told God, ‘I love you, God. I love you. In fact, I have this jealous passion for you, but I feel so all alone. Nobody seems to be following you. They have deserted you. They have broken down your altars. They have killed your prophets.’ And then God sent me down from that mountain with a mission. And that mission became the story of my life.”
*1 Kings 19:9-15
The first person, a woman around 86, said, “I was in a tornado once. We lived at the bottom of a mountain and the tornado roared into the mountain. The winds were howling. Trees fell. Rocks slid. I was scared to my bones and screamed out, ‘God!’ Well, we survived, but let me tell you, ‘There is a God!’ All my life after that I knew the roar of God.”
The second person, a woman around 91, said she was once in an earthquake. “We all screamed out, ‘God help us!’ And obviously, we survived. If you’ve ever been in a big earthquake, let me tell you, you know there is a God.”
The third person, an old man who was almost 90, said, “I was caught in a forest fire once and everything – EVERYTHING was on fire and we lost everything – EVERYTHING and we all screamed out, ‘God where are you!’ and the wind shifted and we survived. We lost our house but thank God we lived. Let me tell you. I too know there is a God.”
The fourth person, an old man named, Elijah, said, “I've been in tornadoes, earthquakes and fires, but let me tell you when I really experienced God. It was during the war and I was escaping. I was hiding out. People were chasing me. I climbed this mountain where I knew there was this cave – high, high up on the mountain. While up there God came in the sound of a gentle breeze. I knew it was God. I went and stood at the entrance to the cave. And God said to me, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ I said, ‘I am running and hiding for my life.’ And we talked and we listened to each other. I told God, ‘I love you, God. I love you. In fact, I have this jealous passion for you, but I feel so all alone. Nobody seems to be following you. They have deserted you. They have broken down your altars. They have killed your prophets.’ And then God sent me down from that mountain with a mission. And that mission became the story of my life.”
*1 Kings 19:9-15
© Andrew Costello
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