Friday, August 13, 2010

Listen

“And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.” – 1 Kings 19:12

The prophet Elijah had just seen a mighty work of God. He challenged the priests of Ba’al to a dual, and through YHWH's power, Elijah came out on top. His altar was lit with fire from the heavens, and everyone marveled at this incredible deed.

But the fruit from this experience was not what Elijah expected. He envisioned all of Israel returning to the worship of the one true God, but when this didn’t transpire he became disillusioned…even suicidal.

So God called Elijah to Mount Sinai to teach him a lesson.

First there was a strong wind, but God was not in the wind. Next there was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but God was not in the fire. Where was God?

God was heard in “the sound of a low whisper.”

Noise and clutter are everywhere. In this age of technology it seems there is no escaping the endless drone of sound and barrage of information that streams our way. Our church services can even adopt this way of life. We like the big productions, the loud bands, the fiery preaching, the mighty displays of God’s power. But if we are not careful, we may miss God by looking for him in all of these things; we may drown out His low whisper.

Sometimes our greatest spiritual act can simply be silence; the kind of silence that allows a whispering God to be heard. We must make a habit of this silence if we are to grow in our relationship with God and learn how to be a disciple of Jesus. The first task of discipleship is simple: Listen.

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