Whispers and Roars
Author: Andrew Comiskey
October 02, 2023
‘The weakness of God is stronger
than man’s strength.’ -1 Cor. 1:25
Feverish and weary, I prepped
for a men’s conference in Lithuania during a long flight. My only clear
thought: men destined to be lions reduced to domestic fat cats by vermin (worldly
sorrow, porn, drugs, apathy) so that rats ruled the cats. ‘Jesus, rouse Your
lions!’ I prayed as a strike against my sickness.
Not a new metaphor for me but
hopefully a helpful one for Eastern Europe. By the time I launched the first of
four talks and ministry times, my cold had descended throat-ward. I couldn’t
speak. My interpreter couldn’t hear me. I whispered the line again. When the
Spirit surged, my voice crescendoed then cracked like a teen enduring puberty.
Pinch me. Please.
This lion didn’t roar. I drew
strength from the Eucharist, vintage Vineyard songs, and a half-sized figure of
Christ-Crucified lowered from the ceiling alongside me as I spoke. Just one
look at Him who descended into this fat cat so I could skewer rats cheered me
on.
During a break I received a
message from Annette that an eye exam weakened her vision, causing her to drive
blindly through a fierce storm. Shook her up. Helpless, 5000 miles away, all I
could do was call and croak a prayer to Aslan: ‘Move on behalf of the one I
love most!’ He did. He does.
I didn’t have to yell. He
hears and acts anyway. I whispered the marvels of His mercy: stops and fresh
starts, aspirations and humiliations, falling, yes, but always forward. He won
over a bunch of Euro-cats wanting to be lions, reduced to Him to make it so.
I love being a guy but I
don’t much love men’s gigs: oft low on thought, a tad misogynistic, and high on
adrenal energy that fades once home. I’m more Jesus-freak than G.I. Joe and
this freak wants Reality. We too readily mistake traditions of men for God’s;
maybe it helped to lose my voice so His could be amplified.
Aslan roared. Like Elijah poured
out after he incinerated the prophets of Baal, I was reduced to the still small
voice that rescued Elijah from suicidal thoughts (1 Kgs 18-19). ‘Not by might,
not by power, but by My Spirit’ (Zech. 4:6). He can crank up the volume any way
He wants.
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