The Voice of God

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 Kings 19:12

I think if you asked most of us if we wanted to hear God’s voice and know his will for our lives, we’d say, Yes, I want to hear God. In general, that’s how I feel too. I want to hear God speak to me and I want to know his will for me. When it comes down to the daily choices of life though, I’m not so sure. I’ve lived a lot of my life knowing what God wants of me but simply going my own way. Living in such a condition, I’ve not actually wanted to hear what God would say to me. And that’s a big problem. When I’m going my own way, I don’t speak to God much and I certainly don’t listen. So, even though I say I want to hear God’s voice in general, I often choose to be deaf when it comes to my day to day living.

Today’s passage is about the voice of God. In the story, the prophet Elijah was on the run from Queen Jezebel who wanted him dead. He’d recently stood up for God, winning a heroic victory over the prophets of Baal, yet now, he was running for his life. All his efforts had changed nothing, and Elijah felt like a failure. In his despair, God came to Elijah. The passage says that strong wind came, then an earthquake, and lastly a fire. But God was not in those cacophonies. Finally, a still, small voice came, and in that low whisper was God.

It’s a beautiful story about God comforting one of his faithful in times of hardship. I like to imagine God speaking to me in that low whisper. I’m no Elijah though. Often, when God speaks to me, I refuse to listen, closing my ears to his still, small voice. God came to Elijah in that whisper because Elijah had been faithful and was in tune with God. Elijah didn’t need God to be in the earthquake or the fire because Elijah was listening.

In my self-centeredness, when I refuse to listen to the whisper, God sometimes must raise his voice. C.S. Lewis wrote that pain is God’s megaphone which he uses to rouse me from my deafness. When I refuse to listen, God must use his loud outside voice to get my attention. When this happens, I must cut those things out of my life that turn me from him. Then, I must daily turn towards him, listening for his voice. God is always speaking. Whether he speaks in a pleasant whisper or a painful shout, seems to be up to me.