God’s Still Small Voice

Even though many people hear God’s voice, not all pay attention to it, or discern it, or understand it. 
We heard in the last episode about silence and stillness. Silence is a lack of noise. It is difficult to hear God in this noisy world. To hear God’s voice, we pray to God in secret, behind closed doors. But sometimes, even in the silence of our room, our thoughts are noisy and loud and we distract ourselves. When we quiet ourselves, we enter stillness. 

1 Kings 19:8-10
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

Elijah did many things that no one else could. He defeated numerous false prophets and brought down fire to prove to people and bring all people back to God. However, though people were impressed, they did not repent and turn back to God. This disheartened Elijah. In verse 8, we see that Elijah gains strength after resting and eating as per the angel’s instructions.

Elijah is now walking towards Mt. Sinai. At this same mountain, years ago, Moses received the Law from God. He fasted 40 days for this. We also later see that Jesus fasted 40 days during His time on earth.
Here, even Elijah fasted for 40 days as he gained strength from his rest and food before fasting. He then begins his journey and reaches Mt. Sinai. He spends the night in a cave and then he hears from God. Here, he speaks his heart to the Lord. 

1 Kings 19:11-13
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?”

An escort of powerful wind, earthquake, and fire went before the Lord. The Lord wasn’t present in any of this. The majestic storms were only an announcement of His presence to come.
This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have a figure, we read throughout the Bible that God does have a form and figure. 
After the wondrous signs, the Lord speaks in a quiet voice; a gentle whisper. God’s voice can be so still and gentle, but its impact startled Elijah. Our mistake is that we look for a loud voice of God. But He speaks in the stillness. 

1 Kings 19:15-18
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
God gives Elijah strategies and instructions to follow. In Verse 18, God reveals things that Elijah didn’t know. He thought he was alone, but there were seven thousand people that stayed loyal to God.
 
God’s gentle voice can powerfully change us and lead us. To hear this, we need to escape all the noise around us and within us and enter the stillness.