Still Small Voice

THE STILL SMALL VOICE

I Kings 19

 ¹ And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." ³ And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
⁴ But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"
⁵ Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel^[a] touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." ⁶ Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ And the angel^[b] of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." ⁸ So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
⁹ And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
¹⁰ So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."    
¹¹ Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
¹⁴ And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
¹⁵ Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. ¹⁶ Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. ¹⁸ Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

 

 

 

 

It is interesting isn't it? Sometimes after our greatest triumphs, our greatest victories, that is when we are most discouraged. When we feel most defeated.

 

Certainly this was true of Elijah. Elijah had just been a part of a contest on Mount Carmel. There on Mount Carmel, in front of the whole nation, he had challenged the prophets of Baal to show who could call down fire from heaven. The Baal prophets were in the hundreds. Elijah was just one. The Baal prophets had went through incantation after incantation. They had cut themselves to appease the gods they believed they served. They were not successful.

 

Elijah drown his wood pile with water in front of the people. He knelt in prayer. Fire reigned down from heaven. Nearly every prophet of Baal in the land was executed. God had triumphed.

 

I think at this point, Elijah believed everything would be different. That the people, the nation, the king and queen would see that God was the only God, and that he was God's prophet and mouthpiece. I imagine Elijah slept well the night after Mount Carmel.

 

Then came the morning after that Mount Carmel incident. Ahab ran home and told Jezebel all Elijah had done. Jezebel took charge. She sent out a decree to have him killed as soon as possible.

 

Elijah decides to flee the country. He gets as far as the Southern Border and he gives the assistant his pink slip. He lays down in solitude and cries that he wants to die. And this is where we start recognizing a hint of self-centeredness in his holy work. He complains about not being any better than his fathers. Selfish. Elijah says that HE is doing everything alone. He is the only one faithful. He has defeated the prophets. He has stood against Israel. ME. ME. ME. God was patient with Elijah's pride and self-centeredness as he is with us.

 

Notice when God got Elijah's attention. It was when Elijah was away from the crowd. It was when Elijah was away from the commotion. When he was away from the news reports and the football games, the dinner parties and the state fair crowds full of people. When Elijah had wandered up into the barren land full of cactus and the mountains full of rocks and cliffs and caves, it is as that time when God spoke to Elijah.

 

The Lord speaks to Elijah. And the Lord tells him to go to mount Horeb, also known as mount Sinai. God tells Elijah to go there and wait for Him there. So Elijah eats this wonder bread from the desert and heads up to the mountain in the desert. He waits for forty days to hear God's voice again.

 

God invites Elijah to come to entrance of the cave he was staying at in the Mountain of God. That mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Mount Sinai. Elijah goes there. And stands at the entrance of a cave. And listens for God to speak.

 

A loud, violent wind comes through that cracks rocks and breaks tree limbs. But God was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake. But God was not in the earthquake. Then there was a fire. God was not in the fire. Then their was a "still small voice" or other translators even translate it, "the sound of sheer silence". God was not in the fire. God was not in the wind. God was not in the quake. God was in the still small voice. The hushed whisper. Elijah had performed miracles. He had called down fire from heaven. He had boldly preached for God, and loudly stood for God when few others would. He was zealous, brash, and even violent for the cause of Christ. In the process, he mistook the power of God in his ministry for the presence of God in his life. And he was lost, lonely, and suicidal.

 

How often do we think God delights in our great sacrifices and feats of faith? Our accomplishments as family member, a leader in the community, a well-loved person at school, a good provider, a financial provider for those we love, a nurturer of children.

This is what Elijah needed to learn. God used his strength and boldness, his courage and tenacity. But God wanted Elijah to know him in the still small voice. God used Elijah's zeal and passion and blessed it. Elijah thought God was interested in what he did. The truth is God was interested in who Elijah chose to be. Elijah thought God was interested in accomplishment. He found God was interested in relationship. God spoke to Elijah in the still small voice. When he took the time to get alone with God, and when he was quiet enough to hear it.

 

The truth is, God is always speaking to His people in solitude and silence. God spoke to Moses as he was alone in the wilderness watching sheep. And when Moses received the Ten Commandments, he did not bring a crowd. God spoke to Samuel while everyone else was asleep and he was tending the flame in the temple. God spoke to David while he was out in the field. Perhaps that is why so many Psalms say things like "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him"(Psalm 37). "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46). The Bible teaches that Jesus withdrew to places where he could be alone. After his baptism, he went to be alone in the desert. Before he called the disciples he went off to quiet place. After he fed the multitudes, he wanted to be in a quiet, lonely place to be alone with God. Silence and solitude are essential to a healthy spiritual life. Perhaps that is why God often did and does speak to people during their dreams. It is when they were silent and he could have their full attention.

 

Throughout Christian history, believers have believed that silence and solitude are important for our spiritual health. Soon after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman government, people who wanted to experience more of God decided to retreat to the African desert, and build little shacks they called "cells". They would say, "Go to your cell, and it will teach you everything". Thomas a Kempis, in his classic devotional book The Imitation of Christ had a whole chapter on silence and solitude. Pascal said, "All unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay silently in their own room". Mother Teresa, great social activist of our time also spoke of the importance of silence when she said, "Silence leads to prayer. Prayer leads to faith. Faith leads to service. Service leads to peace".

 

 

Silence is hard for us though. So is solitude. Oh many of us are seniors and single and may spend time alone, but we turn on the television to keep us company. We play music to keep us occupied. We fiddle around on a thousand little projects to keep us from being silent and alone. We grab books and read them. We look for a thousand different little amusements to take up every waking moment of silence and solitude. If we are younger we have a thousand clubs and commitments to keep us occupied. We gets our kids to be certified members of the rat race by the time they are 12. And thus many of our kids learn to fear solitude and silence. It is a punishment when they get "time out", or when they get the silent treatment. Yet silence and solitude is where we start if we want to hear God. If we want to sense his leading. If we want to hear his voice, we need to get away to silent and solitary places. We need to carve out places where we can meet God, just us and him.

 

There are a few reasons why we need silence and solitude:

1. Silence and solitude allow us to quiet all of the other voices and noise that competes for our worship, and allows us to worship God alone.
   
2. Silence teaches us how powerless we are, and how much we need and depend on God. (Hilary of Tours described or penchant for business and noise as the blasphemous anxiety to do God's work for Him)
   
3. Silence and solitude allow us to hear God's call and voice, so that we can act with right action
   
4. Prayer in silence and solitude prepares us to have the right words for others when they need them. (Bonhoeffer said, let him who cannot be alone beware of community, let him who is not in community beware of being alone)
   
5. Silence teaches us God values us based on who we are in relationship with Him, not based on what we do or what skills we have.
   

 

Then the question becomes, how do I find a way to do times of silence or solitude in a prayerful way? Here are some pointers:

1. Find a place for silence and solitude. For some of you it can be on your front porch early in the morning. If you are like me, it might be somewhere in the house late at night. It may mean being like Scott and going off to a place where you can be alone with God for a while. For Scott Pittullo that is in dry, open spaces. For others of you it might be the city park, or the lake at the city park in La Junta. For some of you men that might be your garage even. If you are a busy parent, it might take more planning. Or to be really crass and yet really practical, it may mean hiding in the restroom for a short time. Or walking the dog when nobody else is out.
   
2. Find a time for silence and solitude. Try starting in small chunks at first. Five minutes of silence in the car on the way to work. Ten minutes in the morning where you can be alone before anyone gets up. Fifteen minutes at night after everyone goes to bed.
   
3. Be prepared to be uncomfortable. You have been programmed with noise and sound trying to sell you something for days and weeks and years. Allow God to speak into that discomfort.
   
4. Come to God with a specific question or concern. Then silence yourself before Him and ask him to speak to you through that silence
   
5. Integrate interruptions into your silent time. We are going to be silent for a few minutes soon. You will hear children crying. You will hear oxygen tanks clicking. You will hear cars driving by. Either ignore them, or let God to speak to you through the noise in your silence. Don't let the interruptions and clicks and clatters keep you from being silent.
   

So we are going to spend a few moments singing. Then we are going to take some time to sit silently before the Lord after some brief instructions. Then we are going to take a few moments to share.

Let us sing. And let our song be our prayer.