shadow

The Still Small Voice

So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.

1 Kings 19:11-12, NASB

“Do you want God do send you a postcard?!”

fireMy husband has asked me that more than once when I’m faced with a big decision. My answer is always the same. “Yes! Actually, that’s exactly what I want! Gideon got the fleece, Moses got the burning bush, why can’t I get a postcard?!”

It seems silly as I write it, but it’s honest. Sometimes my faith feels so small and my circumstances seem so big. I just want God to tell me what to do!

Elijah, fleeing for his life and desperate for death, was told by the Lord to go to Horeb as He would be passing by. Elijah, a prophet of God, was no stranger to the miracles of the Almighty. Elijah, having been fed by ravens and witnessing fire fall from Heaven, knew the Lord would deliver. Expecting God to show up, Elijah went as he was told. Today’s verse tells us that a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire came, but the Lord was not in any of them. This time, the Lord showed up in what the King James Version refers to as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV).

What if Elijah had only looked for God in the big and miraculous as opposed to the still and the small?

Make no mistake, God still uses miraculous ways to communicate with us, but if you and I are only looking for God in the big and the powerful, we set ourselves up to miss His divine guidance. God may not speak to us in the same manner as He did to Elijah, but He still speaks in countless ways. He speaks to us through His word, through conviction and prompting deep in our hearts, and through the words spoken by others. There are no limits to the ways He can and will show up in our lives.

It’s difficult to hear His guidance without spending time with Him through worship and the reading of His Word. It’s in our hearts—our humble and submissive hearts-—that the still small voice of God is heard.

Humble and Hearing,

Traci