Jezebel, the wicked wife of the wicked king of Israel, wanted Elijah dead for defeating her priests of Baal in a competition of the gods. The God of Israel – Elijah’s God – had decisively demonstrated his power over the false god Baal. Jezebel didn’t take well to her priests being defeated (and then slaughtered). She swore to hunt down Elijah and kill him.
So, Elijah fled.
To the desert.
And God met him there. To encourage him. To comfort him. To lead and guide him.
But not how Elijah expected.
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. (1 Kings 19:11-12, NLT)
God wasn’t in the windstorm.
He wasn’t in the earthquake.
He wasn’t in the fire.
He was in a gentle whisper.
In the Hebrew, He was in the kol da’mama da’kah. The still, small voice of God whispering into the quiet desert. To one person. Who was listening.
God still speaks. We often don’t hear Him because we are waiting for a windstorm or an earthquake or a fire, when all the while He was been speaking in a gentle whisper.
We can only hear it if we quiet ourselves and really listen.
You may be in the desert right now. You may feel like God is silent. You may feel like He isn’t there at all.
He is. He always has been and always will be.
He is there and He speaks every single day. He encourages and comforts and leads and guides and convicts.
More often than not, He speaks through His Word – the Bible.
The quiet of the desert can feel lonely but it can also be the perfect place to listen.
Are you listening? Can you quiet yourself long enough to hear the still, small voice of your loving God?
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