came a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:12
When someone whispers, it takes a listening ear to understand what is being said—especially if we are surrounded by busy and loud environments prior to the whisper. The Lord makes himself known to us in many ways; he is not in any way limited in how he chooses to make himself known to us. But what I love about this passage in 1 Kings 19 is how the Lord does the unexpected, or even the opposite, of what Elijah might have been expecting when the Lord revealed his presence.
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. (1 Kings 19:11-12)We often expect to see God move in the big and mighty ways, because he is capable of such things. He is great and he is mighty. He is all-powerful, and all-knowing. Omnipresent. Creator. But as the creator of each of our individual souls, he sometimes chooses to reveal himself in quiet ways that will only speak to us as his unique creation.
He takes his might and power and omniscience and speaks to us in the gentle whisper that comes after all the noise.
But can we hear it?
The Lord had to tell Elijah to go some place specific, some place new. He told him to go out and stand on the mountain so that he would be able to feel the presence of the Lord. Elijah was coming to the Lord in a place of great fear, because he was being pursued by the sword. God told him to go some place different, to get out of his own environment where fear was keeping him hidden. Elijah could have easily heard if God was speaking to him in the powerful wind or the earthquake or the fire.
But God required Elijah to wait on his presence and to listen. And Elijah heard.
God chooses to meet with us in unexpected ways. When Jesus came into the world and became God with us, Emmanuel, he came as a gentle baby in a quiet town. The treasure of heaven, due all glory and praise, came into the world as a whisper amid a world of calamity and chaos. He could have stormed the world and made himself known to every one on earth.
But he came as a whisper that we might seek him, find him and learn his voice.
Jamie
jrobison@b4church.org
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