You don’t get the nickname motor mouth, by being a really good listener, in other words I valued my mouth rather than my ears. Until recently the concept of being quick to listen & slow to speak was lost on me (James 1:19). I’d like to say the reason behind my change of heart was some sort of deep spiritual reason but really it all came down to 2 things. For 1 my hearing became so sensitive I felt I could sympathize with Superman coming into his powers; piercing doesn’t even begin to describe the pain some days. There is the other end of my hearing sensitivity in that some sounds are literally my kryptonite; my body just locks up into a position & won’t release until the sound stops. The 2nd & probably the biggest reason I had to get better at listening is my random bouts of stuttering; can’t talk very much when you can barely get one word out.
I turned to God in my frustration much like Elijah does here in 1 Kings 19. Elijah is making his case to the Lord for justice to be served in Israel. I felt Elijah’s pain I had been wronged. My little extroverted heart couldn’t believe she was being put on mute I mean some of my favorite things to do were talk & go to concerts. Now during my extremely ear sensitive days my world goes silent. I might be able to slip in an audiobook, but sometimes not even that. This has left me with a lot of time to, well, ponder & read.
As I was reading through this passage I got to God’s 1st response to Elijah, I thought, you know, that probably wasn’t really the response Elijah was looking for… I could relate. From the moment Elijah is on the mountain until God speaks, he doesn’t say a word. He just tunes his whole body into waiting to see what God is about to do. God gives quite the show, but all the big acts of power, things that could smite all the baddies they are all devoid of God’s presence. Instead, He is present in a gentle whisper. I love that God chooses a whisper to make His presence known, because 1. anyone who does a lot of public speaking knows you have an audience’s full attention if you can whisper & be heard clearly.
2. And most importantly unlike the world it’s not by might or by power that God chooses to move, but by His Spirit will He bring about justice (Zechariah 4:6).
With this revelation I knew the answer to why with all His great power He wasn’t vanquishing my foe. Like Elijah, God was more interested in having my ear & focus than bringing about my sort of justice. God finally had my full attention & I started to not just hear that gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit, but really listen & act on it. Like in Elijah’s story, God began to show me that the solution I wanted for the situation wasn’t really in the best interest of anyone least of all me. He had a better plan that would help more than just me.
I needed the time to learn the importance of His whisper. To tell the difference between God’s truth & the world’s principles. To become more like Elijah to be so attuned to God’s truth that I can tell the difference of when God is present & not present (1 John 4:1). Cause anyone who has been around high winds, a raging blaze or an earthquake knows they are powerful things to experience, but Elijah knew God wasn’t in them. Yet that gentle guiding whisper, Elijah felt to the core of his soul he was in the presence of God. He knew the sound of the Good Shepherds voice (John 10:2-4). I want to know God like Elijah, but in the meantime, I am thankful that God used my symptoms to learn the importance of listening ears (Mark 4:23).
Challenge:
Take some time out today to find a quiet place & just listen. It will be a little uncomfortable at first but given time & practice I think you will learn to cherish the silence. And when you hear that gentle soul deep whisper you will find the peace & joy, we are all thirsty for.