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 was in the throes of fear when God spoke to him. He feared that Jezebel would kill him. Even though Elijah believed fully in God’s power; and even though he had just won the contest on Mt. Carmel, and had just triumphed over 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah (1 Kings 18:19), he was still very afraid. In the midst of this fear, God told him to go stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD and wait for the LORD to pass by (1 Kings 19:11). Elijah could have mistaken the powerful wind, the earthquake, and the fire for the presence of God. But he did not, because he was listening; he was tuned in to God.
How often do we mistake “outward show” for the presence of God? When we are engulfed by fear, it is easy to make mistakes. When things around us are so frightening, and we are desperate to see God move, or when we are desperate to right a wrong, we can fall into the error of judgment. Too often in our modern Christian lives, we find ourselves caught up in “group think.” We gravitate towards the loudest and most convincing voices; we follow the most popular perspectives; we “worship” the most charismatic and successful personalities, convinced that these external attributes are evidence of God’s presence. We are driven by desperate fear to err in judgment.
As we pass through this life, we may not always understand the commotion that surrounds us but if we are keenly tuned in to our Savior and prepared to listen to His still small voice and follow his gentle commands, we will all one day gaze in awe and wonder at the whole, magnificent tapestry of life... of which we are one small part. We will discover that God was always there in the small things, in the midst of our fear and our confusion and our aloneness. He was always there, not as a big banner waving, hashtag proclaiming, policy changing movement, but as a small, almost insignificant voice urging us to love one another even in the midst of fear. As you begin this week, may God’s gentle whisper encourage you, strengthen you and fill you with his peace and joy as you serve him.
Loving and Gracious God, in a world where everyone is constantly talking about one opinion or another, where we seem to know more and more about less and less, help me to identify your still small whisper. In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.