11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand at the mountain before the Lord. The Lord is passing by.” A very strong wind tore through the mountains and broke apart the stones before the Lord. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. After the fire, there was a sound. Thin. Quiet. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat. He went out and stood at the cave’s entrance. A voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
We live in a very loud world.
So sometimes I feel like that we expect that God’s voice should match the loudness of our world, but it doesn’t does it? There are two words that come to mind when I think of noise and God’s voice.
“Listen” and “Hear”
I think sometimes we think that we listen to God’s voice, but to really hear it can be a completely different thing. You can listen all day long, but to actually hear something is something that I believe is more. When something is heard there is this implication that it has been received (whether good or bad) it has been received nonetheless.
In this verse from 1 Kings we find the prophet Elijah that heard God’s voice and responded. “God said to 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 noise comes and elijah thinks its God, but its not. Then another loud noise comes, not God. Then another and its still not God.
And then after the fire there was a sound, but it thin and it was quiet
And Elijah heard it.
What he hears is God asking a question: Why are you here, Elijah?
What is God asking you tonight?
Are you listening?
Did you hear it?
I believe that God is always telling us something, the question is whether we truly heard what he was saying.
God I pray that we would truly hear you for what you are truly saying. Open our ears, hearts, minds, and very souls to you God so that we can hear you and go and represent in as your disciples. In Jesus’ Name we pray.
Amen.