Izaya came home pretty late and tired. Trudging into his room, he quickly scanned it. "Nothing new." Taking off his shoes and closing the door to his apartment behind him, he heard a thump. Turning around and peering into the room, he checked for the source of the sound. Nothing looked changed. "Wait...did I leave my Bible on the table?" Izaya squinted at the Bible.

All of the sudden it opened. Izaya frozen and stepped back. There wasn't any breeze, the window was closed. Plus the cover of the Bible was hardback, something that cannot blown open. "Well that's weird." He waited a few minutes but nothing else happened. Finally his shock dissipated, only to be replaced with fatigue. It has been a long day. Avoiding his table, Izaya ducked into his bathroom and proceeded to brush up and prepare for bed. Slipping into his pajamas, Izaya went to the light switch, shoot one last suspicious glare at the book, and flipped switch. Izaya bounced into his futon, said a quick prayer, and closed his eyes.

Sometime in the night Izaya woke with a start.

*shuffle shuffle shuffle.*

It sounded like something was moving along his carpeted floor. Peering over the ledge, he adjusted his eyes into the darkness. Utilizing the faint light filtering through his curtains, he noticed a square like object on the floor. A coldness crept up his spine as he realized it was his Bible that was left on the table, but now it was only a few feet away from him and moving slowing, scuttling like an inchworm. Izaya backed into the corner of his futon, gathering his blankets and pillow in front of himself and clutching them tightly. He has never heard of a book coming to life, much less the Bible. "What do I do? What is going on here!?!?"

The Bible stopped at the base of the futon. By this time Izaya is completely paralyzed with fear. Opening and closing his mouth in gasps, his eyes stared unwavering at the Bible. The pages fluttered a little, and settled on a specific page. By now Izaya's eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could see the heading on the page. "1 Kings 19..."

The Bible flew up and smacked Izaya in the face. An ensuing struggle occurred on the futon, with flailing arms and muffled shouts. Slowly, the thrashing died and a throttled silence entered the room. A fading thought escaped Izaya as he faded into eternal rest. "...I asked for this...I asked God for direct revelation through the Word..."

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So this story actually came into my mind during Sunday School today, while talking to TC after we both read and prayed over 1 Kings 19, the passage where Elijah is waiting to hear the voice of the Lord. The reason behind all of this was that we both looked at each other and ask, "did you felt something?" Neither of us did, and yet it felt like we should have. A lot of times when I read the Bible, I want instant and direct revelation. I want to hear the Word of God like Elijah did on Mount Carmel. But most of the time I am greeted with silence. I look at my Bible and expect something to happen...for smoke to rise of the Bible to magically flip to the right page to address my current problems or situation. But it doesn't (at least I hope not...but it would be kind of cool too if it did).

A lot of times I want to hear God in the same way too. Loud voice. Big boom. I echo how Francis Chan, how he wanted God to show him something, like balls of fire falling onto the arena or having the chandelier fall on top of the congregation. "Just something!" But instead, he heard a tiny voice, probably similar to the gentle whisper on Mount Carmel, tell him that God has a purpose, and His purpose during Elijah's faceoff against the Baal worshipers was He revealed His glory in a flashy way to preserve the life of his prophet who was going to die if nothing happened. But we aren't in that kind of dire situation. At least not yet. So asking for something big like flying Bibles or fireballs from heaven isn't going to be daily sightings.

So yeah, this was such a spur of the moment short (horror) story that I don't really know the purpose I have, but I just want to remind myself and others that, like in 1 Kings 19, God doesn't always speak loudly. Actually, most of the time it is through pain that God is yelling at you. Most of the time, it is a gentle whisper. It can be through a voice, but it can also be through the Word. Many times there will be silence, but with the assurance of faith that God is there, we can overcome the feelings of loneliness.

Update: according to this week's Sunday school, asking the Bible to attack you is called "confirmation"...and we ask for it quite often and yet get frustrated when God doesn't comply. As if we can demand things from God and always receive it (see Job as an example)