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"11 And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave."
(1 Kings 19:11-13, ESV)
Busy is the name of the game. I find myself constantly answering the question, "How are you doing?" with "Good, just really busy!" With preparing for messages, planning services, planning Wednesday nights, planning our Freedom WKND (similar to D-Now), contact work, and other tasks that get piled on during the week, "busy" is a word that I have grown accustomed to.
When I get busy, I honestly love it. I love the hustle. I love the feeling of accomplishment and knowing that there is work to be done, territory to be taken, effort to be put forth! If I am not careful, with my enjoyment of work and being busy, I can get lost in the busyness. I can get too focused on what I am doing and lose sight of what God is doing. In the moments of busyness, I constantly have to remind myself of the "low whisper" through which God sometimes chooses to speak to us.
This term "low whisper" comes from the encounter that Elijah has with God in 1 Kings 19. Contextually, Elijah has just defeated the false prophets at Mount Carmel; God swooped down with fire from Heaven, burning up Elijah's sacrifice. Elijah then saw a drought come to an end because God answered his prayer for rain. After these two amazing, conspicuous miracles of God, Elijah fled into the wilderness because of a threat on his life. He then prayed that God would end his life. Clearly, Elijah was in a tough spot! Here is where we see God speak to Elijah in His "low whisper".
Why did God choose to speak to Elijah in this way? Because that was how God wanted to get His message across! It wasn't in the great, strong wind, it wasn't in the earthquake, and it wasn't in the fire; it was in the low whisper. Isn't God's choice here amazing? Elijah had seen God's mighty miracles, yet God knew he needed a low whisper in this moment. I think we all have low whisper moments from time to time.
For me, busyness drowns out the whisper. It's not that my choices are trumping God's voice, but I am allowing my busyness and pace to be louder than the whisper. I often don't slow down enough to hear the whisper. What about you? When was the last time you got still and quiet before the Lord and were able to hear the whisper? When was the last time you were silent before the Lord and allowed yourself to embrace Him in silence? Elijah didn't need the wind, earthquake, or fire in his moment of despair; he needed the whisper. What does God want to say to you today in His low whisper? Will you quiet yourself from the busyness of life to listen to His whisper? My encouragement to you today is to grab God's Word and go to a quiet spot. Once you're there, allow yourself to listen to what His Word wants to speak to you.
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