{"id":722,"date":"2021-05-18T08:27:21","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T12:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=722"},"modified":"2021-05-18T08:27:21","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T12:27:21","slug":"the-still-small-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/18\/the-still-small-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"The Still, Small Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elijah the prophet experienced one of the Bible\u2019s most memorable spiritual highs. 

In a public contest pitting Yahweh vs. Baal, he singlehanded stared down hundreds of false prophets and won, on God\u2019s behalf, a resounding victory.

Imagine what a rush it would be to stand up in a contentious Town Hall meeting in the 21st<\/sup> century and say, \u201cJust in case you\u2019re wondering where God stands on these issues \u2013 OK, Lord, you can take it from here,\u201d whereupon fire would fall from heaven, illuminating exactly how everyone you know should vote, act, and think. 

There are at least two reasons why this wouldn\u2019t be nearly as wonderful as we might suppose.

The first is that the spectacle of fire from heaven would dramatically short-circuit a strategy for spiritual growth that seems near and dear to God\u2019s heart \u2013 that we would actually learn to address our problems with listening ears, open hearts, forgiving spirits, and the willingness to love even those whose opinions drive us absolutely bonkers. 

The second is that Elijah, within the space of a few hours, plunges from the highest of highs into a deep emotional abyss. 

When Queen Jezebel learns that Elijah has bested her favorite horde of false prophets, she swears that she\u2019ll have his head.  Hearing this news, his confidence implodes.  He runs for his life \u2013 all the way toward the Sinai wilderness. 

We pick up the story in I Kings 19:4.  \u201cHe came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all\u2014to just die: \u2018Enough of this, God! Take my life\u2014I\u2019m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!\u2019 Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush.\u201d

What\u2019s going on here?<\/em>

For most of us, this is familiar territory.  We know what it\u2019s like to crash and burn under the broom bush. 

After a supreme effort to make something happen \u2013 even after experiencing an amazing spiritual, relational, or vocational victory \u2013 the adrenaline washes out of our bodies and we become vulnerable to doubt, fear, and depression.  Elijah staggers into the wilderness badly in need of renewed spiritual perspective.

But first he needs a major dose of self-care. 

\u201cSuddenly an angel shook him awake and said, \u2018Get up and eat!\u2019 He looked around and, to his surprise, right by his head were a loaf of bread baked on some coals and a jug of water. He ate the meal and went back to sleep.  The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, \u2018Get up and eat some more\u2014you\u2019ve got a long journey ahead of you.\u2019\u201d (I Kings 19:5-7)

For Elijah, the immediate needs of the hour are simple and practical: a meal and a nap. 

But what he ultimately needs is the healing of his spiritual perspective.  He needs to get away from everything \u2013 from the noise, the crowds, and the craziness of what his life has become.  Forty days later, as he huddles in a cave in the Sinai wilderness, God begins that process.

\u201cAnd the word of the Lord came to him: \u2019What are you doing here, Elijah?\u2019  He replied, \u2018I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.  The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.  I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.\u201d 

There\u2019s some whining going on here. 

Elijah assumes he is an army of one.  He feels alone and exhausted \u2013 trapped in an impenetrable fog bank of despair.

In response, God provides one of the most remarkable divine encounters found anywhere in Scripture: 

\u201cThe Lord said, \u2018Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.\u2019  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper.\u201d 

It is in that gentle whisper \u2013 in the \u201cstill, small voice of the Lord,\u201d as the King James Version so memorably puts it \u2013 that God gives Elijah the gift of re-commissioning. 

He gets a new perspective:  You are not alone<\/em>.  He gets new marching orders:  I am not finished with you yet, Elijah<\/em>. 

Do you feel as if you\u2019ve come to the end of things \u2013 that you\u2019ve come to the end of yourself? 

Our richest and most transforming moments will probably not happen in the midst of cheering crowds or public victories. 

Instead, like Elijah, we\u2019ll have to become quiet enough to hear the gentle whisper of God\u2019s voice. 

That\u2019s when we discover that no matter what has been happening in our worlds \u2013 good, bad, or in between \u2013 the only thing we\u2019ve ever really needed is Him. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elijah the prophet experienced one of the Bible\u2019s most memorable spiritual highs.  In a public contest pitting Yahweh vs. Baal, he singlehanded stared down hundreds of false prophets and won, on God\u2019s behalf, a resounding victory. Imagine what a rush it would be to stand up in a contentious Town Hall meeting in the 21st century and say, \u201cJust in… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[239,238,240],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-depression","tag-elijah","tag-silence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":724,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions\/724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}