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Wait for the Whisper
July 31, 2020
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"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."
1 Kings 19:12
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This week's Shine TYC post talks a little about Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Elijah was running from Jezebel. He was afraid for his life. When he got tired, he fell asleep under a tree. That's when the angel of the Lord woke Elijah up and told him to eat so he'd be strong.
After the whole eating thing, he went on a 40-day trip to Mount Sinai. While he was there he slept in a cave. While he was sleeping, the Lord again woke him up. This time he wanted to speak to Elijah. He told him to stand on the mountain and wait. While Elijah was waiting, a terrible windstorm came. After the windstorm, there was an earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire. Then finally God spoke to him in a "gentle whisper." That's when he told Elijah to go anoint Elisha. Remember that from the "Burn and Turn" email?
We expect God to be BIG, BOLD, and LOUD. When we pray and ask for guidance we expect the bush to be burning. Am I right? I know I expect rolling thunder with lightning. I cry out "Make it plain, Lord."
After reading about Elijah's mountain experience I started thinking...
Maybe God answered us on day one in a whisper and we just didn't hear it. We sit down. We blab our requests to God. Then, we get up and get on about our day. Did we even wait to hear if he answers?
In all of our relationships, we ask questions and wait quietly for the answer...except with God. With God we wait differently. Here's what it would be like if we treated our friends like we treat God.
We arrive at our friend's house. We jump out and leave the car running with the radio on because this won't take long at all. We approach the door and knock. Our friend answers with a big smile. We ask, "Do you want to go to dinner tonight?" Then we turn around, get back in our car and drive off. We check email...no answer. We check our phone...no text. We check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and decide to make a TikTok video about how hungry we're getting.
Dinner time comes and now we're HANGRY. We storm back to the house, bang on the door and demand an answer. Our friend says, "I said yes but you didn't hear me because you were driving off with the radio on. I called you but it went to voicemail because you were already talking to someone else on the phone when you pulled away. I tried to leave a message but your mailbox was full of other stuff."
Doesn't that sound ridiculous?
Like Elijah, we need to wait for the whisper. Don't get distracted by your personal windstorm, earthquake, or fire. Prayer is a conversation with God. Conversation. Two people in two-way dialogue. Obviously, you aren't going to hear the whisper with your ears.
Here are just a few examples of whispers:
You call a friend to gossip and they don't answer. Whisper.
You're about to buy those new shoes and the site goes down. Whisper.
You headed somewhere, but get terribly lost. Whisper.
You doing something totally random and think of a friend. Whisper.
Sometimes God guides us with a burning bush. Stop! Look! Listen!
Sometimes God speaks to us in whisper. Listen for the whisper, y'all.
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Follow the Little Voice, Not the Loud One
Obviously! Paul is pretty direct in his message to those foolish Galatians. His goal is to do the will of God, regardless of what people think. That should be our goal too, but often the voices we hear with our ears drown out God’s voice that is speaking to our hearts. Read More...
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Do Not Give Up On God
In a time when our self-image and self-worth are challenged daily by social media highlight reels of people who seem to lead perfect, adventurous, well-maintained, lives with exceptional children and extraordinary marriages, it’s easy to focus on what’s wrong with our lives. Psalm 139 reminds us that even the things we think are “wrong” with us, are perfectly designed by God. Read More...
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Keeping It Real With God
Brokenness is the new normal. At least the multi-billion dollar self-help industry would suggest so. We buy books. We watch videos. We attend conferences. We repeat positive affirmations. We think good thoughts. Finally, when we are desperate for relief, and all out of options, we pray. That's when we need to keep it real with God. Read More...
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Learn to hear the whisper. Check out one of my favorite Mark Batterson books, WHISPER: HOW TO HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD. I pray it blesses you like it blessed me.
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