Once there was a man who dared God to speak:

Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the wall like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen.

And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to the sea and waited for God to speak.

And God heard the man, so God answered.

He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church.

He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.

He stilled a storm, not of sea , but of soul.

And God waited for the man to respond.

And He waited…

And He waited…

And He waited…

But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives; sea and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing.

Finally he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?

And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing?

“A Gentle Thunder, Max Lucado, 1995, Word Publishing Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.”