Actually, God was NOT in the earthquake, wind and fire:
(1 Kings 19:11) 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.
(12) After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (13) When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
That is true. Thank you for the correction. But he was in the the furnace with Daniel and the believers.
There is a real cool Scripture I don’t remember off the top of my head about “Behind the curtain in the darkness, God was there.” That is truly comforting in the Spiritual warfare that lays ahead for we are interesting times.
Freegards
LEX
The God of the Bible is sovereign over nature, including earthquakes, strong winds, and fires. God commands every detail in reference to weather, whether it be good or bad (Psalm 135:5-7; 147:7-8; 16-18; 148:5-8; Job 37:3-13). He controls the sea, land, heavens, etc. There are no random acts of chance in nature. According to Isaiah 45:5-7, God creates evil (calamities). God claims responsibility, for nothing happens apart from His eternal purpose and decree. All nature is at the disposal of its Creator. The Lord has His way in nature according to Nehemiah 1:3-8 and nothing happens apart from the direct hand of God, whether productive or destructive (Amos 3:6; 4:7-9). Every plague in Egypt was a judgment from God and so is every seal, trumpet, and vial upon man, beast, sea and heavens in the book of the Revelation. This means that every tragedy or calamity is by purpose (hurricane, tsunamis, volcanoes, earth quakes, hail, lightening, disease, war, disaster, flood, famine, fire, etc.).
In his book, “Is God Really in Control?”, Jerry Bridges recounts deadly tornadoes in Mississippi. Here is an excerpt with his commentary that may be helpful when considering God’s power over nature and providence in our lives.
From the chapter “God’s Power Over Nature,” Brother Jerry writes:
One night while working on this chapter, I watched the evening news on television. One of the top stories was about several powerful tornadoes that swept across central Mississippi killing seven people, injuring at least 145 more, and leaving nearly 500 families homeless. As I watched the scenes of people sifting through the rubble of what had been their homes, my heart went out to them. I thought to myself, “Some of those people undoubtedly follow Christ. What would I say to them about God’s sovereignty over nature? Do I really believe it myself at a time such as this? Wouldn’t it be easier to just accept Rabbi Kushner’s statement that it is simply an act of nature-a morally blind nature that churns along following its own laws? Why bring God into chaos and suffering such as this?”
But God brings Himself into these events. He said in Isaiah 45:7, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” God Himself accepts the responsibility, so to speak, of disasters. He does more than accept the responsibility; He actually claims it. In effect, God says, “I, and I alone, have the power and authority to bring about both prosperity and disaster, both weal and woe, both good and bad.”
This is a difficult truth to accept as you watch people sift through the rubble of their homes or-more to the point-if you are the one sifting through the rubble of your home. . . . We obviously do not understand why God creates disaster, or why He brings it to one town and not to another. We recognize, too, that just as God sends His sun and rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous, so He also sends the tornado, or the hurricane, or the earthquake on both. . . . God’s sovereignty over nature does not mean that Christians never encounter the tragedies of natural disasters. Experience and observation clearly teach otherwise.
God’s sovereignty over nature does mean that, whatever we experience at the hand of the weather or forces of nature, all circumstances are under the watchful eye and sovereign control of our God.
– Jerry Bridges, Is God Really in Control: Trusting God in a World of Hurt (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2006), 59-60.