Listen for the whisper.

After Elijah’s God publicly defeated the false prophets of Baal, Elijah ran away to escape the wrath of evil Queen Jezebel who’d threatened to kill him.  When he stopped, he asked the Lord to take his life because he felt lonely and exhausted.  An angel gave him food, water, and he slept.  Each time he woke up, he ate, drank, and rested.

Then I Kings 19: 11-13 reports this:

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…

I wonder how many times I’ve missed God’s voice because I expected to hear it in something exciting like the wind, earthquake or fire, rather than in a quiet whisper.  Our lives can get so noisy and chaotic which can make it hard to hear the quiet whisper.  How often have we assumed that God wasn’t speaking to us because we couldn’t hear His quiet whisper?

In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.
                                             I am exalted among the nations,
                                             I am exalted in the earth!”

Maybe if we didn’t pay so much attention to the wind, earthquake or fire (the exciting things) in our lives, we would be more open to hearing God’s quiet whisper.  Can we be still long enough to hear God’s quiet whisper?  If so, life could be very different.  Why not find a place where you can be quiet and still, while listening for God’s whisper?