“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
—1 Kings 19:11
“Why doesn’t God reveal himself to me? I cannot trust him unless I experience him through a clear, miraculous sign!” Our listener Dmitriy from Siberia said this when he connected with us on Twitter. It’s a common sentiment that we receive from our non-believing friends.
In our reply to Dmitriy, we pointed him to today’s passage from 1 Kings. This biblical story shows how we often experience God.
Under a royal death sentence, Elijah fled to a cave on “Horeb, the mountain of God.” He knew that the Lord was about to reveal himself there. Soon a powerful windstorm tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks. What a frightening display of power! But the Lord was not present in the wind. A miraculous earthquake and fire followed the storm. For Israelites, all those were signs of God’s presence. But the Lord wasn’t in them.
Unlike his ancestors, Elijah did not experience God in those powerful symbols. Amazingly, he heard the voice of the Lord Almighty where he least expected it—in a gentle whisper!
When we seek the Lord, we have to remember that often he reveals himself and his will to us quietly in a familiar Bible passage, a sermon, a prayer, or a friend’s caring words. We shouldn’t be demanding. Instead, we have to be patient, open and attentive. And then we’ll hear his loving voice.
Father, thank you for sending us your Son, Jesus. Grant us good spiritual hearing to always detect his voice. Amen.
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