There was a helper who was wet! He was not just slightly wet, he was soaked! Water was running off his hair, his clothes were filled with water, and there was even water in his ears! The teacher asked why he was so wet, and he said that he had just come from Yosemite National Park where he had been playing in the waterfalls!
There are many waterfalls in Yosemite National Park, some are very tall, and some are just average, but all of them are awesome! The tallest waterfall in the park is named Yosemite Falls and it is 2,425 feet tall!
Ribbon Falls
Many of the waterfalls dry up in late summer, but some of the waterfalls are full all year long.
The helper said that he just had to get close to the waterfalls, it seemed like the power and sound of the waterfalls was calling to him, and he had to be a part of it. The spray from the big waterfalls can soak a person who is standing next to the waterfall, but the helper enjoyed the smaller waterfalls too, sometimes he went into the lake and right under the small waterfall!
The helper also loved to sit by quiet water, where the water is not making hardly any noise. The water is so still that it reflects all the beauty around the area! In times like this, the helper felt the need to just jump in the water and become completely into it!
Application for you and me:
The sound and power of the waterfalls reminded the helper of God! The sound of a large waterfall overwhelms a person’s senses just like the voice of God can overwhelm a person’s senses.
In the Bible in the book of Ezekiel 43:2 it says:
And I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.
Also, in the Bible in the book of Revelation 1:14-15 it gives a description of Jesus in His glory:
The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
The roar of a waterfall reminded the helper that sometimes God’s chooses to speak as loud as a waterfall and the helper just wanted to run to the waterfall just like he wanted so much to run to God!
Sometimes though, God does not choose to speak with overwhelming power, most times God speaks to us with a soft voice. Just like the quiet water seemed to call to the helper, so that he just had to get into the water, God’s quiet voice also calls to a believer, and that person is drawn to God when they sense His quiet voice calling to them.
In the Bible in the book of I Kings 19:11-13, the prophet Elijah wanted to hear from God and connect with God, and this passage describes how it happened:
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
The helper said that sometimes God connects with us in an awesome way, His presence and His power, and His majesty overwhelms our senses in those times, and we feel so much in awe of Him and we just want to worship Him and obey Him! Encounters with God like this are so special and the memory of this type of encounter with God stay with us our whole life.
The helper also knew that most of the time God does not speak to us in such a loud and overwhelming manner, most of the time God speaks to us with a gentle voice in a quiet way. This ‘quiet voice’ of God can be heard in several different ways; some people says that they have actually heard a ‘still small voice’ talking to them as if God were sitting next to them talking with an audible voice. However most believers do not hear an audible voice, they just sense in their heart that God is speaking to them. This can happen when they are praying, or reading, their Bible, or listening to Christian music, or talking with other believers, or when they are just by themselves thinking about God!
It does not matter how or when God makes that connection with you, what matters is that you listen to God and do what He says to do!
