Hearing The Voice Of God

Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
When God speaks how do we hear Him? Would we listen if He spoke in a rushing mighty wind or a loud booming earth shattering voice? In 1Kings 19:11-18 we find a story of a man of God, Elijah, who had call down fire and prayed and stopped the rain, who was running from a mad man and his queen. He was hiding under a juniper tree and asking God to let him die. When God spoke to Elijah He could have done so with an earthquake, with the wind or with fire but He didn’t. He spoke with a still mall voice. Surely Elijah would have heard God had God used something loud and fierce. Heard Him yes listened to Him probably not. So God asked Elijah in a soft calm voice, “What are you doing here Elijah?” God knew why Elijah was there and why he was running. We see from Elijah’s reply the depth of this misery. “I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” He thought he was the only one serving God. Was that true? Not by a long shot. God had seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
God got Elijah’s attention with wind, fire and rock breaking but He spoke to him in a still small voice. Sometimes we feel like our service for God is in vain. That no one hears or believes. Would we listen if God sent fire, and wind and broke rocks? Would that get our attention? In the depth of our despair and our fear we too may think we are the only one serving God. Psalm 40:10 reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” The sooner we focus on Him and His power, the quicker we will see relief from our fear and self-pity.
Maybe all we need is to be quite and listen to the still small voice of God. Are we listening to the crashing cymbals of our failures or the loud trumpets of our successes that we just can’t hear God’s voice?
When God spoke to Elijah He did not speak from the things that got his attention. He spoke after Elijah was still and quiet and his mind was in tune with God. If you want to be in tune with God you must tune out the noise of the world. Hear the still small voice of God and listen to what He has to say.