My Dear Friend,
I pray that today’s devotional will encourage you to know that even in the clamor of today’s world, the still small voice of God is available to be heard. As always, you are loved and missed.
Love in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Mark
“And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
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.
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9-13, NIV)
Last week, I went to visit someone in the hospital, and passing me in the hallway was a tall, slender woman, perhaps in her early 60s, upon whom I noticed a very small, gold cross pinned to her t-shirt. I said, “I really love your little cross! I have a larger one that friends gave to me for my suit lapel, but maybe a bit too heavy for a t-shirt.”
With a darling southern accent, she replied, “Why, thank you! Yes, our pastor from my church in Tennessee encourages us to wear these small ones – not too loud, just enough for people to notice.” She then said, “Would you like one, darlin’? I always have extras to give away.” (And I know that even these small crosses are not inexpensive.)
Of course I accepted her generous gift. Just as this dear woman, I want to be one of those believers who, anywhere and everywhere, let their faith in Jesus Christ be proclaimed – “not too loud, but just enough for people to notice.”
After the saint from Tennessee walked away, I thought about today’s Bible passage wherein God came to the Prophet Elijah in the worst of times – a time when, not unlike the present, society was increasingly rejecting God and the words of His prophets. When God came to meet Elijah on the mountain, His approaching presence brought severe climate effects – what insurance companies call “acts of God.”
Powerful rock-rending winds, an earthquake, then fire: But God was not to be “found” in any of them. These phenomena were only meant to get Elijah’s attention. Rather, God was to be experienced by Elijah only in “a still small voice.” (v. 12, KJV)
Today, the signs of God’s approaching are loud and clear. But the actual voice of the Lord will only be heard in that “gentle whisper” that only an interested, attentive human ear can hear. May we turn our ear toward that gentle whisper, so that souls can be blessed, just as I was blessed by the still small voice of the woman from Tennessee and the small cross on her t-shirt that spoke to me – “not too loud, but just enough for people to notice.”