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
Last night we had a thunderstorm and I would have slept through it had my son, Reid, not woken me. What amazes me is that it wasn’t the thundering sounds outside my window that woke me, but the whisper of my son’s voice. It amazes me how I can sleep through a loud storm yet a simple whisper, “Mommy” can wake me from the deepest sleep.
I thought about those whispers. I thought about how attentive I am to my children’s voices. That a soft whisper brings me to full attention from a sound sleep. As I pondered the power of a whisper, I felt the Lord speak to my heart, “Dawn, I hear your whispers.”
God hears our cries. He hears our shouts. He hears our pleas, but most powerful of all, He hears our whispers. In some of my hardest and most heart crushing moments, it was the simple whisper of His name that I felt His presence. He promises us that if we call unto Him, He will answer. (Jeremiah 33:3) He is always attentive and always ready! Just like we are attentive to our children’s whispers, He too is attentive to His children’s whispers.
In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah spending a night in a cave after traveling for forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai. Elijah was tired. He was weary from seeing the people of Israel breaking covenant with God. Elijah was simply exhausted with everything. Maybe you can relate? I know I can. Just like Elijah, we too can grow weary and need to hear a word from God so that we can carry on.
So, Elijah went to the mountaintop to hear from God. While on the mountaintop, the Lord passed by and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose. After the wind, came a mighty earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire and after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. God wasn’t in the mighty wind, the shaking earthquake or the blazing fire. He was in the gentle whisper.
Elijah heard the whisper because he was still and he was waiting in expectation. He was able to drown out the other noises and distractions and hear the voice of His Father in a gentle whisper.
Sometimes we need to get away from the noises, all the distractions, and just be still before God so we too can hear His whispers. Sometimes, it’s not until I lay my head on my pillow for the night to rest that I hear God speak. And, by that time, I’m really too tired to listen. I am learning that when I quiet my heart, still my soul, and rest my mind, I can hear His gentle whispers.
For it’s His whispers that will rescue a weary soul, quiet a racing heart, calm a troubled mind and command the storm to be still. His voice can roar like a lion and roll like thunder, but it’s His whisper that holds the greatest power.
Quiet your heart in his presence and pray; keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you.
Psalm 37:7 (TPT)