The sound of a gentle whisper after the storm

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah has just finished up some amazing miracles. But someone named Jezebel threatened to kill him, and Elijah fled.

"Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.' (1 Kings 19:4)

He traveled 40 days to Mount Sinai. This was serious business. He was on a mission to get to God.

“But the Lord said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ Elijah replied, ‘I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.’ ‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain,’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” (1 Kings 19:9-13)

Thankfully, nobody is trying to kill me. But a current day scenario for me is something like this…

There are important things going on in my life. And there was a lot of entertainment to distract me from feeling sad about these things, but the Lord was not in the entertainment. There was a lot of helpful advice and opinions from friends and people who could listen well, but the Lord was not in their opinions. And after all of this, there was the sound of a gentle whisper in the silence. When Facebook and Twitter and music was turned off, when friends were in their own homes, and when it was just me and God. And the background noise of the world seems to be like the static of the radio when you’re going out of range from the station on the way to another state. I’m thankful for social media, games, books, and movies, and I’m thankful for amazing friends and their prayers for me. But to hear from God specifically, all that must be put aside.

Because the thing is, we can talk all day about how our lives should change, our actions and reaction should be different, we should have less road rage, we should love our coworkers better… but unless we get to the heart matters first, those actions won’t stick. Our thoughts are a battlefield. Our emotions seem to be uncontrollable so many times. So when you get your heart right first, your actions will follow. And to get your heart right, you have to spend time with the Lord. Not in a begrudging way, but in a ways that reminds us that this AMAZING God who created all of creation wants to communicate with us, but we miss it a lot! I’ve heard something once that said, “Do you think God would send Jesus to die for you, and then not talk to you very much after that?” No!

So I’m trying to tune out the world for a while. It’s hard. Friends tell me, “You haven’t seen this movie yet?! You have to see it!” or “Did you see ______ on Facebook?!” They come to me with great advice on things that I’m dealing with or things that are on my heart, or just listen to me vent or talk through things, and that is also great, but it will just continue to be my words rambling into space, circumstances unchanging, until I hear from the Lord.

While I’m not really being hunted down to be killed, I am being attacked by satan – a spiritual killing.

Besides specifically asking the Lord for answers or results or circumstances to change, I want to continue to seek HIM and know Him more. This in itself is an adventure that we let fall into routine or a basic chore. It would be like someone saying, “Oh yeah, every week I fly to a different country, explore the place for a while, and then fly to the next country. I’ve done it for a few years now, it’s pretty cool, but it’s pretty normal. It’s just what I do.” No! I would hope that person would constantly be journaling, taking pictures, and be ecstatic about the opportunity to see the world! Daily we get an opportunity to spend time with God, and I hope we get out of the habit of making that sound normal.