May 2013
Elijah heard Him in the hushed Whisper
I Kings 19: 11-13 Niv
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Have you ever gone so long that the journey was too long for you? Have you ever been gripped by such fear that the Lord had to manifest Himself not once, twice, but three or more times? What got your attention? Have you ever just sat down and prayed to die? Elijah did.
For a little background and context I recommend reading the biblical text before you continue; I Kings 18 & 19. There are so many questions to be asked as you read these texts, but for the purpose of my blog I have pulled out a specific part that spoke to my heart.
We arrive on the scene and the physically illusive, frequently swept away by the Spirit of God, Elijah, is testing pagan priests, calling down fire, and killing the pagan priests of Baal. Certainly this is no ordinary man, or one anyone would challenge, but Jezebel did. She threatens to take Elijah's life within 24 hours.
In fear Elijah ran from Jezebel and after a day’s journey, far enough to be out of Jezebel’s reach into the wilderness, he found a broom bush and sat beneath it praying to God to take his soul and let him die. In his weariness Elijah fell asleep beneath the bush. After some time God sent a messenger who touched him and cooked for him and gave him sustenance. When Elijah was done eating the angel reappeared later and touched him and told him to eat again. I suspect there was a little something more in that touch that Elijah was going to need to complete another leg of his journey. The next leg, 40 days, and not just two days of meals would sustain him. So Elijah sets off and at the end of his journey in the wildness Elijah has an amazing encounter with God. The man of God is hiding out in a cave when the wind blew and an earthquake shook the mountains apart and shattered rocks before God. God wasn't in the wind or the earthquake. Then a fire blazed but God was not in it, either. After all of that God is found! How? Where? Hushed, and in a whisper, the kind that calms storms, hushes calamity and confusion, and brings purpose and order. There was Elijah at the mouth of the cave as God asks not the first time, “Elijah what are you doing here?” It wasn't a mountain dividing wind, or the earth shaking, or a blazing fire that got the prophet’s attention, it was a whisper. Are you seeing the picture?
I find that life can come with so much that drains our reservoir of strength and faith until we begin to fall further away from God if we are not vigilant. When we are less inclined to spend time with God we begin to operate with the fleshly or old man side of our nature. The acts of our flesh which can lead to sin block or stifle our ability to hear the voice of God. Oh the temptations to give up, give in, or fail that we all suffer. If you ask me, at all times I believe, but not all times do I behave as if I do. Even the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul identified it as the part of his soul that was not yet sanctified by God’s touch, an area still bound by his old nature. Sanctification is a process that happens through our personal experiences with God and in relationship with Him. If we are empty of time spent with God we cannot experience that changing life-giving force. Here was Elijah a man closely familiar with hearing God’s voice, doing His bidding, and yet there he was in this scenario dealing with a chink in his armor running away and struggling with what he knew God wanted and what he had begun to fear. I sense that Paul was challenged likewise, as he exclaimed, “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” Romans 7:24b there's a realness in the Bible about the men of our Christian legacy as you read their words about their own personal struggles.
In the next verse 25, Paul gives us God’s truth and revelation, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” This beautiful reminder that Jesus Christ is our Deliverer, that He paid the price with His own blood that we can be free to be just as we are created, but with an invitation to hold on to the grace available through belief and relationship with Him. It removes all temptation to let our minds remain tortured by the enemy. Convincingly, God’s word comes in another scripture and washes us with the Word, Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” God desires that we would wait on Him, seeking Him, and listening for His voice, and obeying Him in what He desires.
Back to Elijah, Elijah was chosen by God for many things and heard him well oft times. Now he had grown weary. He was plagued by fear to the degree that it removed Him from the place of peace to confusion and weakness. When God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” It was to let Elijah breathe in God’s graciousness and allow him to look at the state he was in. What do you do with those moments of pause? Sometimes I find that I can be so carried away by what is seemingly before me that I totally miss that moment of grace. Circumstance might have provoked Elijah's emotions, but it was Elijah who ran. He let his mind get away from him and forgot his position as a son of God. God had the Jezebel business under control. In the end, God gives Elijah a way of escape from his troubles and also preserves the faithful of His people Israel in the process. God always has the bigger picture in mind, there was a purpose to the challenges Elijah faced, and God was the center of it all. This man Elijah prophet, and so critical to our history by virtue of His calling, stumbled upon his own fleshly nature! How critical do you believe you are today, how often do you struggle with the flesh? Do you miss those moments of grace when God may be asking, "What are you doing here?" I think that question God posed to Elijah on more than one occasion, and now to us is a necessary pause of grace in order that we should hear His voice. What are we doing here? What’s our focus? What are we willing to surrender to God in order to become a part of His plan? Hearing God’s voice may not always be convenient, or seem possible, but I promise when it’s necessary He will make His voice known, and it may very well be a hushed whisper.
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Have you ever gone so long that the journey was too long for you? Have you ever been gripped by such fear that the Lord had to manifest Himself not once, twice, but three or more times? What got your attention? Have you ever just sat down and prayed to die? Elijah did.
For a little background and context I recommend reading the biblical text before you continue; I Kings 18 & 19. There are so many questions to be asked as you read these texts, but for the purpose of my blog I have pulled out a specific part that spoke to my heart.
We arrive on the scene and the physically illusive, frequently swept away by the Spirit of God, Elijah, is testing pagan priests, calling down fire, and killing the pagan priests of Baal. Certainly this is no ordinary man, or one anyone would challenge, but Jezebel did. She threatens to take Elijah's life within 24 hours.
In fear Elijah ran from Jezebel and after a day’s journey, far enough to be out of Jezebel’s reach into the wilderness, he found a broom bush and sat beneath it praying to God to take his soul and let him die. In his weariness Elijah fell asleep beneath the bush. After some time God sent a messenger who touched him and cooked for him and gave him sustenance. When Elijah was done eating the angel reappeared later and touched him and told him to eat again. I suspect there was a little something more in that touch that Elijah was going to need to complete another leg of his journey. The next leg, 40 days, and not just two days of meals would sustain him. So Elijah sets off and at the end of his journey in the wildness Elijah has an amazing encounter with God. The man of God is hiding out in a cave when the wind blew and an earthquake shook the mountains apart and shattered rocks before God. God wasn't in the wind or the earthquake. Then a fire blazed but God was not in it, either. After all of that God is found! How? Where? Hushed, and in a whisper, the kind that calms storms, hushes calamity and confusion, and brings purpose and order. There was Elijah at the mouth of the cave as God asks not the first time, “Elijah what are you doing here?” It wasn't a mountain dividing wind, or the earth shaking, or a blazing fire that got the prophet’s attention, it was a whisper. Are you seeing the picture?
I find that life can come with so much that drains our reservoir of strength and faith until we begin to fall further away from God if we are not vigilant. When we are less inclined to spend time with God we begin to operate with the fleshly or old man side of our nature. The acts of our flesh which can lead to sin block or stifle our ability to hear the voice of God. Oh the temptations to give up, give in, or fail that we all suffer. If you ask me, at all times I believe, but not all times do I behave as if I do. Even the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul identified it as the part of his soul that was not yet sanctified by God’s touch, an area still bound by his old nature. Sanctification is a process that happens through our personal experiences with God and in relationship with Him. If we are empty of time spent with God we cannot experience that changing life-giving force. Here was Elijah a man closely familiar with hearing God’s voice, doing His bidding, and yet there he was in this scenario dealing with a chink in his armor running away and struggling with what he knew God wanted and what he had begun to fear. I sense that Paul was challenged likewise, as he exclaimed, “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” Romans 7:24b there's a realness in the Bible about the men of our Christian legacy as you read their words about their own personal struggles.
In the next verse 25, Paul gives us God’s truth and revelation, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” This beautiful reminder that Jesus Christ is our Deliverer, that He paid the price with His own blood that we can be free to be just as we are created, but with an invitation to hold on to the grace available through belief and relationship with Him. It removes all temptation to let our minds remain tortured by the enemy. Convincingly, God’s word comes in another scripture and washes us with the Word, Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” God desires that we would wait on Him, seeking Him, and listening for His voice, and obeying Him in what He desires.
Back to Elijah, Elijah was chosen by God for many things and heard him well oft times. Now he had grown weary. He was plagued by fear to the degree that it removed Him from the place of peace to confusion and weakness. When God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” It was to let Elijah breathe in God’s graciousness and allow him to look at the state he was in. What do you do with those moments of pause? Sometimes I find that I can be so carried away by what is seemingly before me that I totally miss that moment of grace. Circumstance might have provoked Elijah's emotions, but it was Elijah who ran. He let his mind get away from him and forgot his position as a son of God. God had the Jezebel business under control. In the end, God gives Elijah a way of escape from his troubles and also preserves the faithful of His people Israel in the process. God always has the bigger picture in mind, there was a purpose to the challenges Elijah faced, and God was the center of it all. This man Elijah prophet, and so critical to our history by virtue of His calling, stumbled upon his own fleshly nature! How critical do you believe you are today, how often do you struggle with the flesh? Do you miss those moments of grace when God may be asking, "What are you doing here?" I think that question God posed to Elijah on more than one occasion, and now to us is a necessary pause of grace in order that we should hear His voice. What are we doing here? What’s our focus? What are we willing to surrender to God in order to become a part of His plan? Hearing God’s voice may not always be convenient, or seem possible, but I promise when it’s necessary He will make His voice known, and it may very well be a hushed whisper.