And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it….(I Kings 19:11
There have been times in the past where the situation I was in made absolutely no sense, times when the mountain I had to climb seemed too tall, times when the desert I was in was so dry and desolate, times when it seemed that rather than things getting better things were getting worse, times when rather than doors opening it seemed like every door was closing. During these difficult times, I would cry out to God and I would ask Him to speak to me. I would tell Him how desperate I was to hear from Him. I would tell Him that my strength had dried up, my courage had been stolen, my joy had been robbed, and that without a word from Him I did not know how I would make it. Yet there were times when I was praying; it seemed rather than God talking; He was silent.
Sometimes we expect God to speak to us in mighty ways. We want a man or woman of God (the wind) to come and give us a word in the altar (I have been guilty of that). We want to open the Bible (the earthquake) and whatever verse it opens to, to be the Word from God (I have been guilty of that too). We want God to give us a dream (the fire) concerning our situation (guilty). We want someone to call us with the word from God (Guilty). And when that does not happen we don’t think God is speaking. We are expecting God in the ‘wind,’ the ‘earthquake,’ the ‘fire’ but He is not there. God is speaking to us in a low whisper.
God does not need a minister to speak to you (although He will at times speak to us directly through a minister). He does not need some powerful prayer warrior to give you a word (although at times He will use one to give us a word). He does use them, but He wants to speak to you directly. More often than not you will hear from God, not by the voice of the minister talking directly about your situation, not by the voice of the prayer warrior telling you about the dream God gave them concerning you; but directly from Him.
God speaks to us daily but so many things keep us from hearing Him. Because He is whispering, we need to be still in order to hear. We just need to wait in silence at times. Our own worries, our own fears, our own doubts, our lifestyles and our own thoughts can keep us from hearing Him. We are so busy talking, that we can’t hear God silently calling our name. God is speaking to us, but we can not hear. God is talking to us about the situation we are in, He is speaking to us about the decision we need to make, He is speaking to us about the lifestyle we are living, He is speaking to us about the pain we are dealing with, He is speaking to us about the confusion that has come into our life, He is speaking to us about the strength we find ourselves lacking, He is speaking to us about the joy we are seeking after. He is speaking.
In order to hear His voice though we have to be still. We can’t hear a whisper if we are talking. We can’t hear a whisper if we are distracted. We can’t hear a whisper if we are distracted. In order to hear a whisper we need to be still. We need to stop everything else and we need to be still. I encourage you this week to just be still. It is not that He will speak to you if you are still; it is that He has been speaking, but we have not been still and so we have not heard. Be still. He will speak. I don’t know if anyone who is reading this has needed a word from God. I don’t know if anyone who is reading this has been seeking God for direction, or answers, or strength, etc., but I do know that God speaks. Even when He seems silent; He still speaks.
Life is not about the corner office (nothing is wrong with having one), but it is about making a difference in someone’s life. Life is not about traveling the world (nothing is wrong with doing that); but it is about reaching out to someone in need. Life is not about being able to afford the nicest clothes (nothing is wrong with being able to afford nice things); but it is about giving money to those in need. Life is not about the title before one’s name (nothing is wrong with having a title); but it’s about treating those without the title the same as those with one. Life is not about what others can do for us; it is about what we can do for others. Life is not about letting the world influence our decisions; it is about us influencing the world. Life is not about letting culture dictate our actions; it is about having God’s Word guide our every move.
I would hate to be known as a phony. I would hate to be known as a fake. I want my worship and my praise to be genuine. If I lift my hands in worship in the sanctuary, I want it to be because I lift my hands in worship in my home. If I open my Bible on Sunday, I want it to be because I open my Bible during the week. If I kneel to pray on Sunday, I want it to be because I kneel and pray during the week. I would hate to have it said of me that I pleased man, but my actions were unpleasing to God. I would hate for them to say you had mans applause, but your actions did not garner the applause of God.
I want more than anything to have my actions please God. I want more than anything to praise and worship God with all that is in me. I want more than anything to be a light for those who don’t know God. I want more than anything to be genuine and to be real and not to be a fake or a phony. I want more than anything to walk with God every day of my life. I want more than anything to draw closer to Him daily.
When people comment about us, I would hate if their primary comments would be about the clothes we wear, our appearance, our degrees, our car, houses, etc., but that they would comment on how they admire our relationship with God; our walk with Him; our praise; our worship; our dedication; our service. Because those are the things that matter!