A whisper in the desert

King Ahab went back and told his wife Jezebel how Elijah’s God had sent fire that burned up the whole altar, and how Elijah had ordered the prophets of Baal to be killed. Jezebel was furious! She sent a message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me dead if I do not do to you what you did to the prophets of Baal!”

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He found a cave where he could spend the night. Suddenly, the Lord spoke to him and said, “Go out and stand on the mountain, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

First, the Lord sent a powerful wind that shattered the rocks, 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. After the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face and went to stand at the entrance of the cave, and God spoke to him.

Does God speak with a voice of thunder?

God spoke, and all of creation came into being. By His words the earth was formed and every creature was given life. To do that, God’s voice must be very powerful!

When we hear a loud clap of thunder roll across the sky, we get a small idea of what it would sound like if God were to speak (see Joel 3:16).

However, God does not want to frighten us by using a loud voice when He speaks to us. Elijah may have expected God to speak through the powerful wind or the earthquake, but instead, God spoke in a gentle whisper.

When God speaks to us, He does not shout from heaven. He uses the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, just like the gentle whisper Elijah heard. In fact, if we do not get away from the noise of life and spend quiet time with Him, we may not even hear His voice.

Verse for today

“…How faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?" Job 26:14

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