1 Kings 19 (NIV)The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 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?”
Did you hear that? I could have sworn I heard someone speaking but there’s no one around. It must be my imagination.
Elijah had just come off one of the biggest victories of his career. The Lord God Almighty had just proven Elijah to be correct in his prophecy that the Lord was more powerful that the Priests of Baal. In fact, the Lord sent down fire which burned up the sacrifice Elijah had doused in water and vaporized the 400 Priests of Baal. Now he was cowering in a cave because Jezzabel threatened his life. Did he forget what just happened? Now God wanted to speak with him. Uh Oh, Eliajh is in trouble with the big Guy.
You would think the all powerful Creator of the universe would come with thunder and lightning and the blast of a trumpet. But that is not always the case. In Isaiah, it says that “after the fire came a gentle whisper….” Did you hear that? God’s voice came in a gentle whisper. So if you’re not careful, you could miss it.
In the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, Leviticus 16) service, one of the things I remember most from the prayers is “A Still Small Voice was heard”. Not a great thunder or bright flash but a still small voice. While God is all powerful, He most times is gentle. He does not want to terrorize us. He wants to love us. How do you know it is God speaking? When I was in turmoil about which path I should be taking in life, there was too much going on. I have trouble quieting my mind and listening. I went to Honduras with the Dental Team for their yearly visit. I was completely out of my comfort zone in many ways. I had few electronics and they only worked at times in certain places. I was able to be quiet and open my heart to listen. I was laying in a dental chair waiting for Ernesto, the Honduran dentist on the team. I heard God say “Trust Me!” It was a clear voice but a whisper. I looked around and no one was there. How do I know it was God? Who else could throw their voice into that room and speak to me? Who else would ask for my trust? I am not even sure what He wanted me to trust him for or with. I just knew in my spirit He was speaking to me.
God still speaks to His children today. How do I know? Many times, I struggle with challenges to which I have no solution. When the answer comes, it has all the details so I know it was not of my own doing. I am not that wise. If I listen for that still small voice and wait patiently, at the right time, the solution always comes.
This past fall, Pastor Don did interviews of people who had gone through or were going through adversity. Two of those people were Helen Hoines and Linda Downey. I take notes from the messages so I can use what I learn at a later time. After listening to Linda Downey say God told her it would be OK, I remembered what He told me. Pastor Don reminded me of what Helen said she heard. I put those together and this is what I discovered. “Trust Me! I am all around you. It’ll be OK!” My, Helen’s and Linda’s words from the Lord.
Do you have trouble quieting your mind? Are you too busy to slow down and listen? Do you have so much going on that you don’t leave room for quiet time with God just in case He wants to speak with you? I am asking you now to free up some time in your schedule. Do a few less things. Set aside a time to pray and just listen. I bet you will find God still speaks and He would like to speak with you!
Listen!
Thank you Lord for your Word and Spirit! Speak to us. We know You have good plans for us. Reveal Your plans to us in Your timing and Your gentle way. In Your name we pray! Amen!