A Still small whisper

He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 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. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. [1] And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:10-13, esv) How often have I struggled with some decision? I'm not talking about what shirt to buy, or if I need to fill up the car before the weekend. Decisions that affect my life, and possibly those around me. How do we ever truly know what we are hearing is of the Lord? For me there are times I feel a definete impression if you will. I need to do this or that. But often, there are times when I pray I feel (or hear) nothing, nada, zilch. I am 'left' to make a decision based on what I already know about the situation and God's Word. Many, many years ago I was infatuated with a young lady. I was a Christian, she was a Christian, we seemed to enjoy the same things. I prayed and prayed, and took long walks about what to do. Well, in hindsight, I realize now that I never really heard from the Lord on what to do. So one morning after we had participated in setting up for the service I approached her to tell her of my feelings - only to have her tell me that she was not in the same place. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But this led to more prayer, and more long walks. But it helped me grow. Eventually the Lord brought me to the woman whom I was going to marry. Five years ago I was a t a crossroads with the Guard. I was due to get out, but I had already put in fifteen years. And what about providing for my family? Yet another decision making time where it was very, very hard to make a decision and hear the will of the Lord. One last example, in 1999 my family was floundering in teh church we were going to. We were seeing things that we did not feel comfortable bringing our children up around. We ended up moving while all of our friends stayed at the church we left. In each of these example I had to get alone with the Lord. Remove myself from the daily grind of day to day living. I'd like to say that in each of these examples God shone His face upon me. That His directions was clear and absolute. But the truth is, in examples one and two I heard very little. It was more of a time to spend with my Heavenly Father. Oh, He spoke to me about somethings, but it took time. Our God is not some distant God who sits in His temple afar and cares not for the creation of man. Our God is a God of relationships. He initiates, He speaks, He bends the knee to look His children in the face, he stoops to hold and protect. We speak of climbing into the Savior's lap - but the reality of it all is that He bends down and lifts up into His arms. The world is a loud, chaotic, and violent place. But His Word shows us that if we are to hear what He has for us. We have to listen for His voice in the stillness of our hearts. Not that He cannot be loud (read Exodus) and heard when He desires to be. But He is powerful enough to be heard when He buts whisper, and if we learn to tune our ears, we can hear His powerful whisper above the din of the world. Because to be honest, we could not bear to hear his full throated voice. We would crumble like dust before Him. Rejoice in His mercy for not revealing Himself fully, and enjoy the quietness of His whispers as you spend time with Him. Verse for today: Mark 1:35-39, esv And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. & Luke 9:18-20, esv Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”