Elijah, the prophet, thought of himself as a failure because he could not convert his people from idolatry. In his disappointment he yearned to die because God seemed far from him. Then the Lord told him to go to the mountains because He, the Lord, would pass by. Elijah apparently expected a marvelous manifestation. But he did not find God in a mighty wind, or a great fire, or even an earthquake. To his amazement Elijah felt the divine presence in a breeze so gentle that it seemed like a whisper. The lesson was that without great fanfare God would work His will for Israel in His own way.

Sometimes we may want God to intervene dramatically in our human affairs. After all, why should He not use His power to prevent people from destroying millions of innocent human lives through abortion or from the terror of cancer?

Think of less momentous but more personal problems, we may wonder why God does not seem to answer our prayers, especially when through those prayers we are attempting to keep a marriage together, to rear children properly, or to make ends meet financially in order to live a more tranquil life.

We are in much the same position as was Elijah. We must accept the fact that God will do things His way. Such an acceptance demands not only faith but a real humility.