Hearing His Voice
A Gentle Whisper – Part 1
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 19:10-14
Key Verse: 1 Kings 19:12-13
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?”
Elijah was a prophet of the Lord that is famous to most of us for his mighty defeat of 450 prophets of Baal. After that great victory, Jezebel the Queen threatened his life ad Elijah ran into the wilderness. With the strength given to him from the Lord, he traveled forty days to Horeb, the mountain of God. It was here in a cave that God spoke to him. A powerful wind came, but the Lord was not in the wind. An earthquake shook the mountain, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After that, a fire came, but the Lord was not in the fire. Finally a gentle whisper came and the Lord was speaking to Elijah in this gentle whisper.
Why does the scripture give us this story? An even more pressing question is why did God send the powerful wind, earthquake, and fire if He didn’t plan to speak through them? God had used these forces before to speak to His people. I believe God was making a point: He cannot be put in a box. God uses many methods to communicate with His followers. God may match His method of communication with a circumstance or with the personality of the individual follower. When you hear someone testify how God spoke to them, we should be careful not to immediately assume God will speak to you in that same way. We must not run after a method. God wants us to be ourselves and know He can speak to us in ways that make sense to us.
Father, my heart and mind are open to hear from you. Whatever method you choose, I’ll leave to you, but let me hear your voice. In Jesus’ name, amen.