A Story, Part III

Over time, the girl learned to think of God in terms of who He was. At first she learned to trust Him when He didn't move in a way she liked. Then she learned to trust Him when He didn't move at all, because she knew He had some reason she couldn't understand.
But then she face a situation where He wasn't moving, wasn't moving, and still wasn't moving. She waited until she could stand it no more. She knew His timing was perfect, but if He didn't give her some hope, she would die before she saw her faith realized. She could only trust so long while waiting for Him to move before she began to doubt that He ever would.
That's when she heard a song she'd known since childhood. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, God, Almighty, who was and is and is to come," an elderly black woman sang softly. The words gripped her mind, pushing out all doubt, freeing her from all fear. God wasn't holy because of what He did in the past to change her life. God wasn't holy because of what He was doing now (or wasn't doing). God wasn't even holy because of what He would do if she had the patience to wait. He was holy because he WAS. In that moment, and in every moment, He was there. She shouldn't go to Him for what He would do, but to spend time with a God who forever IS.
God's presence washed over her. "God," she prayed, "I don't need you to do anything... ever. I realize that all my life, all I've ever wanted was to know that you're with me." After that, whenever she started to get depressed or impatient, she learned to pray, "God, You're here, and that's all that matters."
She thought of the story of Elijah, when he saw the earthquake, whirlwind, and fire, but God was in the voice. She realized that she wanted to see God's power, she wanted to see Him move. But what she was really looking for wasn't His glory but His voice - a voice that would stay with her no matter what happened. Moments are fun, but they don't last.