The world is a very loud place. We are bombarded with social media and news, everyone sharing their personal opinions, and it all seems to bring us to “information overload.” How are we supposed to hear what God has to say about life in this world we are living in?
There’s a passage in the Bible, 1 Kings 19, that talks about this very issue of not knowing where God is in the midst of the chaos and noise.
Elijah was longing for God’s voice. God asked him to stand at the mouth of the cave. There was a terrible windstorm, but God wasn’t in the windstorm. A terrible earthquake shook the mountain’s foundation, but God wasn’t there either. These were very powerful acts of nature displaying power and might, but God was not in either.
If God isn’t in that, then what could be more powerful?
Next, there was a fire, and we have seen God manifest in the fire before, so surely He would be there. But again, He was not there. So where is God? Why can’t Elijah hear Him?
Finally, God spoke, not in the powerful showy way we would have expected, but instead, it was in the sound of a gentle whisper. God was there all along, but He wanted Elijah to pay attention to Him in the quiet closeness of His whisper.
How close do you need to be to hear a whisper? Close, yes, you have to be close. That is what God wants. He wants you to get close to Him. Close enough to hear Him speak, to hear Him gently tell you where to go, what to do or what to say.
God wants us to hear Him, but it requires a level of focus and intentionality. You can’t hear a whisper in a crowd unless you lean in, draw towards it and focus on it.
The world is loud, but God is always available. No matter how crazy things are. God wants you and I to lean into Him, draw close to Him and focus on HIM.
Maybe you haven’t heard from God in a long time; perhaps it was just a minute ago, but rest assured that He is there and wants to speak to you. When you quiet your soul, you can hear His still, small voice.
