After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:12 NIV
In 1996 at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, a three-year-old boy climbed a wall and fell eighteen feet into the gorilla enclosure. Sounds of panic came from spectators. Screams escalated as Binti Jua, an eight-year-old female gorilla, walked to the boy. Spectators reported feeling panic as they feared the gorilla would maul the child.
Instead, Binti Jua carefully picked the boy up and carried him to the zookeeper’s gate. She appeared to console him as she stayed by his side offering protection from other gorillas. Zoo personnel were able to safely retrieve the boy, who made a full recovery.
Often when tragedy occurs people ask, “Where was God? How could He allow this to happen?” When a wild animal like Binti Jua displays compassion for an injured child, it’s easy to see where God was in the incident. He didn’t make the boy climb the wall or prevent his fall. God was not in the spectators’ screams of horror. But after the tragic event came God’s gentle whisper. He guided the safe rescue of the boy using one of His creatures, a gorilla.
When the storms of our lives occur, don’t ask God how He could have let it happen. Instead, praise Him for the ways His gentle whisper provides us with His aid.
Lord, thank You for being with me when I face tragic events in my life. I appreciate the gentle whisper of Your support after each storm. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2016 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Vickie Phelps.