A Gentle Whisper

 

In chapter five of the book of Daniel, God sent a human hand to write a message on the wall to King Belshazzar.  The King wasn’t thrilled with the message but something inside of us still makes us desire God to write a message on the wall for us.  We want Him to tell us exactly what step he wants us to take.  We want His wisdom in making decisions that will affect our lives for years to come.  Unfortunately, God doesn't write on walls anymore, but He still speaks.  The question is are we listening or perhaps, more importantly, how are we listening?

After Elijah had defeated the prophets of Baal, he was forced to run for his life as Jezebel had put a contract out on him.  In his exhaustion and fear, he began to whine to the Lord about his fate. In response, the Lord told him to get ready “I’m going to pass by.”  Elijah waited as a mighty wind tore through the mountain, but the Lord wasn’t in the wind.  Then, an earthquake shook the area, but God wasn’t in the earthquake.  Next, there was a fire but again, God wasn’t there.  Finally, there was a gentle whisper, and Elijah knew he was in the presence of the Lord.

I don’t know about you, but I know that I am often looking for God in the big moments.  I have accepted the fact that He’s not going to write on the wall to give me directions, but I still seek His will daily in my life.  Yes, it would be nice if He spoke in mountaintop moments, but I have learned, He is much more likely to speak in a still small voice that I will only hear if I am truly listening. 

When I started this “retirement journey” about 14 months ago, I was floundering, looking for a new purpose in my life.  During my whining, just like Elijah, I sought God’s will and did something that I had often failed to do in the prior years of my life.  I told Him that I wanted this chapter of my life to be all about Him.  Yet, the question remained:  what did that look like?

Fourteen months later, I still don’t have all the answers, but I do know there were times when He spoke to me through His word, through things I read or listened to, and through friends.  The Bible study that I began was the result of an inspiration I had while listening to a podcast.  It has been a great success and continues to grow, so I am confident that it was God’s whisper that made it happen.  This blog is another example of hearing His whisper.  Often these thoughts are a direct result of my devotional reading for the day.  The Holy Spirit challenges me with a word or a phrase and the thoughts just start flowing, not by my ability but by God. 

I don’t know what decisions you are facing, but I challenge you to stop, rest in God’s presence and allow Him to whisper to your heart.  You may need to spend more time in His Word or in meditation or in listening to other well-grounded Christians, but if you pause to listen closely, you will hear His prompting.  It probably won’t be an actual voice, but His whisper will speak to your heart and will lead you one step at a time. 

I Kings 19: 12 - 13

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