Hey, Carpool Crew. Welcome back to Carpooling with Jesus. I'm Pastor Justin. Happy Sunday. Now, you know that hand dryer in the restaurant bathroom that sounds like a jet engine, and you check for paper towels first every single time? Or when you go into the garage and it's being used as a gym, and the sound of the music catches you completely off guard and freaks you out? Well, let's jump in with the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. God is in the quiet after. Now, listen to this from 1 Kings 19:12. "After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper." Now, here's what's going on. This is, by the way, one of Pastor Justin's favorite stories, favorite moments in the Bible. Now, if you've ever heard the story of Elijah, he is a great hero from the Bible, and he, in this moment in 1 Kings, is worn out. He's scared. He's hiding in a cave, and God tells him to go stand on the mountain because the Lord is about to pass by. Then comes a wind so strong it breaks the rocks, but the Lord wasn't in the wind. Then an earthquake, but the Lord wasn't in the earthquake. Then a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after all that, there was a voice, a soft whisper, and that's when Elijah wrapped his face and went out to meet God. Now, did you catch that? A soft whisper, and that's where the Lord was. Now, God has used loud things before. He answered Elijah with fire on a different mountain in front of a whole crowd, and that was God. He was loud. But this time, for a worn-out man, He came in the quiet. That tells us something about God. He isn't only in the loud. Loud isn't where you have to go to find God. He's in the quiet after, and He knows what you need. So here's the honest part. The hand dryer is going to be loud. The gym in the garage when music is going, that's gonna be loud. Fireworks, you know that will be loud. Now, I can't make those noises quieter for you. Nobody can. But loud isn't the whole thing. There's always a quiet after, and God is in the loud, and He's also in the quiet. God's there, too. See, maybe it's the hand dryer. Maybe it's the gym noise. Maybe it's the fireworks or a fire alarm at school when you have to practice your fire drills or just a thunderstorm at night that scares you, and you get out of bed to go to mom and dad's room. Here's the thing. This week, if anything loud happens, I want you to go in with a plan. Not just a plan for the noise, a plan for your body. Maybe it's hands over the ears. Maybe it's standing by the door for a minute and then going somewhere quieter. Maybe it's asking a grown-up for help. Maybe there's something you can put on your ears. Maybe there's ideas you haven't thought of. Then when it's over, notice the quiet after. Just say, "God is here in the quiet. God is here in the quiet." That's a good thing. See, He was in the loud part, and He is also in the quiet. So let's go back to the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. God is in the quiet after. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if your kids have been loving the podcast, go leave a rating and a review on Apple or Spotify. It really helps other families discover the podcast too, and it only takes a moment. Now, before you go, let's answer this question together. What is a loud thing you did anyway, and what did the quiet after feel like? I'll see you tomorrow on a brand-new week of Carpooling with Jesus.
