1 Kings 19:8; 1 Kings 19:11-18
Hearing God’s still small voice. God always has a remnant people no matter what’s happening…
Similar to Moses and the Israelites’ experience at Mt Sinai (Exodus 19:16-19; Exodus 20:18), did you know that God also appeared to Elijah at Mt Sinai (aka Horeb)? But in distinctly different ways:
- At Sinai for Moses, there was earthquake, fire and a loud trumpet sound (that caused the mountains to quake greatly), in addition to thunderings and lightnings. God was in them and Hebrews 12:19-20 tells us that the people around heard His voice. Psalms 81:7 suggests that God’s voice must have sounded fearsome as thunder.
- For Elijah, while there was earthquake, fire and wind (perhaps wind sounding like a trumpet; NB: as wind caused the rocks to break in pieces in the Elijah story, so did the trumpet sound crush the walls of Jericho in Joshua’s days) but God wasn’t in these grand showings. He was in the still small voice. 🤓
So one lesson here is that God could come/move/speak to us in a very loud manner but could also come/move/speak in that still small voice…we can’t put Him in a box or predict His ways.
God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice while Elijah was in a quiet cave, alone, at night. The importance of having quiet alone time with God is another key point here, not that we should go live in caves 😄 Spending time with God at night and early in the morning are some lessons to learn from the life of Jesus on earth also. Psalms 37:7 – “Quiet your heart in His presence and pray; keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you.”
This all happened after Elijah had run away in fear of Jezebel’s threat and had wanted to die (of depression?). The still small voice of God gave him three clear instructions for what he should do next: anoint kings for Syria and Israel, and choose Elisha to succeed him as prophet. Basically, in our times of distress or waiting, while God may bid us to rest for a time, He still urges us to action by keeping us engaged for Him. 🙅🏾♂️👨🏾💻 Prov 16:27 TLB – an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
How He speaks to us could vary but we know that through a voice, as if ‘behind our ear’, telling us what to do, is one sure way! Isaiah 30:21. From experience, this could happen in the moments after prayer, perhaps in the shower, dressing up or driving, or as we’re meditating on His word. Pay attention to your thoughts in those moments! When it’s God-inspired, you will know – God says His sheep will know His voice!💡
Separate point: Elijah also thought that He was the only prophet of God remaining in the land. He thought that he was alone in being distressed or going through trials or standing for God. But God let him know that He was not alone and that there were others! God had reserved a remnant people, 7,000, who had kept His commandments purely, and had not bowed to idols.
See Rev 12:17 and Rev 14:12 – obeying God’s commandments remain a requirement of those who are saved in the end! 🙌🏾🙏🏾😇
The Langford Files 