The Gentle Whisper
By Shauna Leis
“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.”
1 Kings 19:11-12
Elijah had just been through a very traumatic ordeal, experiencing both the ultimate high and the ultimate low. He had seen God call down fire from heaven in the previous chapter and had extinguished the prophets of Baal serving King Ahab. But, fear took control, and Elijah was on the run when Queen Jezebel promised revenge. Her reputation must have caused people’s knees to quake in their sandals. Again, God proved faithful by taking care of Elijah in the desert with one of His angels. The angel fed Elijah and strengthened him for the road ahead.
Elijah went to the mountain as God had instructed him, the same mountain where Moses had his “mountain top experience.” God told Elijah to wait and the presence of the LORD would soon pass by. Elijah’s expectation must have been incredible that he was about to experience the presence of the Almighty God he had just seen in action against Baal. So, the wind came first and tore everything apart, but God was not in the wind. After that was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Fire came next, but God was not in the fire. Finally a very gentle whisper came last, and that was where Elijah experienced the presence of God.
Elijah expected God to be in all of those other things – showing the power and might of God Most High. However, God chose to reveal Himself in the way that Elijah needed to see Him, not in the way that Elijah believed He would come. Sometimes, we have to understand that God is there when it is quiet, along with when we are in the heat of battle. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” There are times that we, just like Elijah, have to get quiet to hear from the God who created the universe.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes you have to use a gentle whisper with children, too? Chaos begins to escalate, and voices get raised. The children are screaming or doing something, and they cannot hear you ask them to clear off the table in preparation for dinner. So, you start to scream to try to get over their noise, and they in turn get louder, too. So, what do you do? What any normal parent would do in this situation, you also scream louder. The cycle continues until finally you all fall into a breathless heap on the floor, and you can no longer even remember what you were screaming about in the first place!
With my kids, I have started to try whispering instead or even just moving my mouth with no words coming out at all. The kids are curious about what I am trying to say so they quiet down in an attempt to listen. They have picked up on the fact that if they are screaming or just being loud, they cannot hear me so I get even quieter. They have to listen even harder and forget the other things they were doing that were so loud.
Sometimes God has to use the same tactic with us. We are screaming and clamoring for His attention, and we cannot hear His voice above the noise. He is whispering to us so that we can calm down and understand what He needs to say to us. There are so many times that I have screamed up at Him, trying to get my point across to Him. Finally, when I stop, when I am still, that is when I truly know Him; that is the point at which I finally hear that most precious whisper…”Dear Child, I love you more than you can ever know and want so much for you to hear My voice, but you have to be quiet to be able to hear Me.” I have learned so many things in these instances, so much more than when I am in the heat of a spiritual battle. Will you stop today and listen for His gentle whisper in your ear?
Pray with me: Dear God, we do so love the example that You have given us in Elijah. What an amazing man of God he must have been. Help this example to penetrate our hearts, minds, and souls so that we, too, will be still and know that You are God. We want to hear the gentle whispers that You have for us – those that truly will teach us about You and help us to understand You even more. You have so much to teach us, and we are very slow learners. Be patient with us as we seek You with everything that we have. We love You so very much and pray all of this in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ!