Whisper

Do you remember the passage in I Kings 19 when the Lord appears to Elijah? It is one of my favorite passages. The part that speaks to me the most is in the middle of the passage, verses 11-12:

“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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

You know how hard it is to hear someone when they whisper to you? I’m sure you’ve had moments when someone is trying to say something to you, but their whisper is so muffled and quiet that you end up saying, “What?” It’s especially hard to hear someone when you’re in a room full of people who are talking and making noise. But, if it’s perfectly quiet and the person can whisper clearly to you, it’s as if they were just talking to you in a normal voice. Imagine that person being the Lord. Elijah had to wait until it was quiet, not looking in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. Then, he heard a gentle whisper and knew it was the Lord. Just recently, I had a similar moment when I heard the Lord in the stillness.

About a month ago, I came to college. Getting ready to leave was craziness! Making sure all my forms were in, that I had everything I needed, and mapping out the drive down, made for a very hectic departure. On top of that, I knew I wanted to go to this school, but there were so many questions surrounding my decision. Was this really where I was supposed to go? Is this really what I am supposed to be doing? The day before I was to move in, I explored the campus and stopped at a lookout point. As I sat in the car, I looked at the view, which wasn’t anything too spectacular, but all of a sudden, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. In the silence, I heard the gentle whisper telling me I was right where I was supposed to be.

Are we that in tune with Christ, that He can whisper to us and we’ll hear him? Are we so frantic to hear His voice that we look for Him in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire? His voice doesn’t always boom…sometimes it’s a whisper.

Can you hear His gentle whisper?