Read 1 Kings 19
Do you ever have a hard time hearing God’s voice? The Lord can certainly speak at anytime and anywhere, but do you think that the busyness of your life affects your ability to hear from the Lord? It’s possible. Very possible in fact. Busyness can be detrimental to our faith. Many times we get so busy that we simply “fit” God in or we forget about Him all together. It’s natural, especially in a culture that is constantly running around busy with one million things to do.
Look at Elijah, God spoke to this man up at the mount of God at Horeb after a long journey. 1 Kings 19:9 says “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?’ (NKJV).
Furthermore, 1 Kings 19: 11-12 says “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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (NKJV)
Then God spoke as we read further. God shows up. But not how we might expect Him. He shows up in the still small voice. God is great and mighty. However, this does not mean that He is always in the big thing such as the great and strong wind, the earthquake, or the fire as mentioned in verses 11-12. Sometimes He is in the big thing, because our God is the God of miracles and nothing is too difficult for Him. But here we see that God was in the still small voice. Elijah was in a position to hear from the Lord as he was alone, away from Jezebel and done fleeing. He was standing there and God spoke. God shows Elijah that he was to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, to anoint Jehu to be king over Israel, and to anoint Elisha in the place of himself as prophet. Wow, what a task! God gives specific instruction. God comes and meets Elijah in the still small voice where it’s just him and the Lord, no distractions. Many times in the Bible we see the Lord speaks in those alone times (as well as ministers to us greatly). Examples include Jesus withdrawing to spend time alone with the Father (ref. Luke 5:16 as well as other passages), Moses going up to the Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights and receiving the Ten Commandments, Elijah spoken to at the mount of God at Horeb, David in caves writing Psalms as he was alone crying out to God, etc.
When we get alone with God apart from the busyness of this life, we put ourselves in a much better position to hear from the Lord. This is not to say we cannot hear from God at church amongst other believers, that we cannot hear from God even at the grocery store, because this is all very possible, very good, and does happen. However, we shouldn’t neglect the personal alone time in the quiet place. In the quiet place apart from everything is where God prepares our hearts to hear His voice, drawing us closer, and growing us deeper in our relationship with Himself. Furthermore, many other wonderful things occur in the one on one time with the Lord such as receiving direction (like Elijah), songs like David, etc. It’s the total base of of the Christian walk- being at foot of the Cross, at Jesus feet. One on one and face to face.
Get alone with the Lord today. If you are busy, we urge you to make INTENTIONAL time with Him. Everyday we have choices we make with our time. Give Him room and opportunity to speak to you. You will be surprised that the still small voice is always there and will guide you daily. Are you listening?
May His Name be Praised,
God Bless you :)