Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.”
At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs 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. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 1 kings 19:11-12 CSB
What Are You Listening To?
Elijah was running from Jezebel, an evil queen. There had just been a showdown on top of Mount Carmel where God, the One True God, had wiped out all the false prophets of Baal and Asherah. Jezebel was very angry because she regarded these priests so highly that she supported them from the royal treasury, and now they were dead at the hand of Elijah. He was scared to the point of giving up. He was already defeated in his head and the weight of the noise he was hearing was causing him to spiral out into a place of overwhelm. He had allowed the noise of Jezebel and others to distract him from the voice of God in his life. He had just witnessed the power and presence of God in such a way that people would be talking about it until the end of time, yet now he is running from the enemy, certain that death is coming and there is no possible way out.
Elijah escaped to Mt. Horeb and hid in a cave. God met Elijah there where he was hiding and asked him a question: Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.” Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” V9-11
Noise can distort our vision or reality. It can mess with our minds to the point that we cannot discern the actual truth. It makes us forget the power and goodness of God and all he has done. It distracts us from the important things of life. It can send us into depression and all kinds of things when we listen to the noise and not the truth of God. Elijah had just witnessed God's power and presence in an amazing way and now he is certain that God will not be able to handle this situation. We have probably all been guilty of the same thing in our own lives. We see God work in one situation but we don't trust him to handle the next one. God didn’t just come to Elijah, he came to Elijah, made himself known, and called Elijah to come and stand in his presence. God knew that Elijah needed to be in His presence more than anything. God met him in his darkest moment and called him out and back to him.
God had passed by the opening of the cave - At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs 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. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. vs 11-12 There was a great and mighty wind, and earthquake, and a fire – all powerful and loud displays – but not displays of God’s presence. God’s presence was in the still small voice, a whisper.
Elijah went on to repeat the same words again to God about what was happening and that they were out to take his life, and God again asked him what he was doing there. God then gave Elijah some orders because he was not about to die. Elijah snapped out of it and heard the voice of God.
God is with us in all the dark spiraling moments but God will not compete with the noise in our lives. He will call us out and draw us to him, but he will not rage louder than everything else to get our attention. He gets our attention with a still small voice. We have to be listening for it, which means to hear God, we must get rid of all the noise in our lives that does not belong. He will come and he will talk to us. He will wait patiently while we spiral but he will be there to gently bring us back to his truth when we are ready to listen.
What is ringing in your ears today that is so loud you cannot hear the voice of God? What is challenging your attention and affection to be drawn away from God? Are you taking time to sit still and quiet with God?
Rid your life of all the noise that distracts you and fills your mind with what is not true. Make time to sit still in his presence and listen for his voice. There is nothing more healing than sitting in his presence and letting his presence cover you, drowning out the problems that feel like they are coming for your life. Let his presence and truth consume you and drown out all the noise you don’t need to hear.
