Are you asking God for guidance and feel like all you hear is silence? What does that mean? What are you to do? My friend, know that you are not alone.
Elijah lived in a day, much like today, when many people doubted or scoffed at God. He longed to see God move with tremendous power and silence the critics. Sometimes God did that. But there was also a time when Elijah’s very life was in danger, and God seemed silent.
An evil and godless queen named Jezebel sent her armies on a mission to kill Elijah, and the prophet became angry and frustrated. Was this his reward for being loyal and faithful to God? Why didn’t the Lord stretch out His arm to defend an obedient servant? Elijah’s depression and despair cut so deep that, resting beneath a tree, he finally asked God to simply let him die. If God wasn’t going to speak or act, and if seemingly no one but Elijah served the true Lord anyway, what was the point of living?
God taught Elijah an unforgettable lesson. He sent the ailing prophet to a mountain and commanded him to stand and watch as the Lord passed. Wasn’t that what Elijah wanted, after all? His heart must have raced as he anticipated looking upon the manifest glory of God with his own two eyes. 1 Kings 19:11,12 tells us what happened:
As Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
Elijah understood the message God was sending him. God can hurl windstorms whenever He chooses. He can make the earth tremble or set it aflame. He has the power to do these and more. But He usually does not choose to move among us in spectacular or sensational ways, but rather in the sound of a gentle whisper.
Elijah had seen God move differently on an earlier mountaintop. At Mount Carmel, God had sent fire from heaven in the judgment of false prophets from the Baal religion (1 Kings 18). But most of the time, as has been my experience, the voice of God is soft and subtle. Please do not miss His voice by assuming it must be loud and dramatic.
We often come to God with very direct questions: “Is this the person I should marry?” Or, “Is that the life vocation You desire for me?” How convenient it would be for us if God would simply write His answer in the clouds. We long to hear an audible voice, or see a stroke of lightning that etches His directions upon a tree.
But God is not interested in simple convenience. He wants us to know Him as our Friend and Lord. He desires that we know Him well enough to learn to hear His still, small voice, even when it is as gentle as a whisper. True friendship is never quick or convenient. We must work at it over a long period.
Perhaps God’s answer to you will become evident in a deep study of His Word. Perhaps you will hear it in the wise counsel of a friend. Perhaps it will emerge through long, searching times of prayer and fellowship with Him. He wants us to know Him well and to love Him deeply. The Holy Spirit helps us do that. For many years I have lived according to the verse, “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13, NIV).
Where is God when you need Him? He is with you, beside you, within you. Let us learn to listen for a lifetime. Then we can sing in praise, with David the psalmist:
I can never escape from Your spirit!I can never get away from Your presence!If I go up to heaven, You are there;if I go down to the place of the dead, You are there.If I ride the wings of the morning,if I dwell by the farthest oceans,even there Your hand will guide me,and Your strength will support me.(Psalm 139:7–10)
By Bill Bright
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