January 18

Hearing The Whisper
 
“Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces 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 a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face into his mantel and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.”
1 Kings 19:11-13a

Elijah needed to hear from the Lord.  Depression and discouragement had him begging God to take his life.  Elijah needed to hear from the Lord, and the Lord promised He would show up.  There was mighty wind, an earthquake, as well as a fire, but the Lord was not in any of those events.  It was with the sound of a still small voice, a gentle blowing, a whisper that the Lord spoke the words Elijah needed so desperately to hear.  As desperate as Elijah was, it is interesting to notice that he did not react until he heard the whisper.  The loud and boisterous events, all events that had been experienced at one point in the past as legitimate manifestations of the Lord’s presence and power, drew no reaction from Elijah.  How did Elijah know when to react?  Not long before the account of this encounter with the Lord, we are told that Elijah had gone forty days and forty nights without eating.  A prolonged fast sharpened Elijah’s discernment so that he could rightly tell the difference between what the Lord might be in and what the Lord was actually in.  Let us consider our own need for discernment.  Knowing the various ways the Lord has moved and encountered us in the past can make it easy to wonder where or how the Lord could be moving.  When we fast, our discernment becomes heightened.  When we fast, we are less likely to be distracted by the possibilities of where the Lord could be moving and we are able to find where He is moving.  Wind can blow with all its might, but we will still know where the Lord is.  The ground can shake violently, but we will still know where the Lord is.  Fire can burn with intensity, but we will still know where the Lord is.  When we fast, we will be able clearly to hear the Lord’s still small voice that speaks the words we most desperately need to hear.  We are drawn close enough to hear His whisper.