A Gentle Whisper

Good Morning,

1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV)
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.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

I recently received a devotional from Sue McCullough in England. Here's her main point so succinctly put. "Like Elijah, we usually expect to see God in the figurative winds, earthquakes, and fires that hit our lives. Big highs and lows can speak clearly of God's working in and around us. But more often, God speaks in a gentle whisper."

Now, I've got to tell you these words have been a wake up call for me and have made me ask myself if I've been missing God's voice because I've been only looking for the "big stuff" that God is so easily capable of doing to speak to me. Then, It caused me to wonder if there aren't many like me who aren't hearing that "gentle whisper" when God speaks to us.

I know we're all familiar with the verse, "Be still, and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10) and another, "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him..." (Psalm 37:7). We've heard these verses many times, I know, but maybe God is sort of whispering to us again today with these reminders of how He most often speaks and makes Himself known to us.

Here's the question that I've had to ask myself this morning, and the one that I'll pass along to you..."Am I (are we) listening?" Have we quieted ourselves enough before the Lord our God to hear His voice when it comes in that "gentle whisper" that we read of in today's verses? I'm ashamed to say that the answer for me is, more often than not, "No." I have to say that because I'm not taking the council of David in the Psalms and I'm just not quieting myself enough...or at least not often enough...to hear God when He might be speaking. (You know, I wish God weren't such a gentleman. I mean, I sort of wish He was more like some of the folks I've known who would just speak louder until I heard them!)

God isn't going to make an earthquake or storm or fire or some other huge natural disaster type of happening every time He wants to say something to us. Even something hugely important. Of course, that's not to say that He would NEVER use the big stuff to talk to us. But, to make the point again, because we probably need it sort of pounded into our brains, we need to be as the Psalmist so clearly pointed out..."Be still..." Then, in that still, quiet time, be patient and listen for His voice.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David