Day 39 | A Gentle Whisper

As we continue to find out what it means to seek after and desire God… Take a moment today to read and meditate on this passage in 1 Kings. It is about the prophet Elijah. God had a special word for him to deliver to His people. God needed to meet with Elijah to talk with him: 

1 Kings 19:8-14 

So he (Elijah) got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.  There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

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, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

 For me this passage speaks to our “desire” for God on a few levels. For extra credit go back and read the beginning of this passage….  Elijah is on the run… running from fear and failure. He is tired and weak. In this moment he actually declares, “I have had enough, take my life.” Exhausted and full of despair, he lays down… hoping to never wake up. He’s in pretty rough shape.

But, God never abandons us. He always meets us in our weakness.

Strengthened he travels forty days and nights to the mountain of God. As I see it, for one purpose only… he desired to see, desired to hear from God.

And God meets him there. Amazing. But here is the thing, He's comes to Elijah in an unexpected way. He comes in a gentle whisper. I love that.

As we desire to meet God, are we finding Him in the places we don't expect? Are we crying out waiting for the thunder, fire, and wind? Missing God whispering in our ear, constantly what we need to hear.

-Matt Stowell