Do you ever feel like the Lord speaks in a whisper?
I know, I know, Elijah’s story tells us the Lord is not in the great wind, the earthquake or the fire, but rather in the gentle whisper.
Could it be that He speaks differently, with different volumes at different times?
For the past 2 years, to me personally, the voice of the Lord has been loud.
And as I obeyed the prompting set before me, it seemed to get louder and clearer. I began writing again, even wrote a book (that’s being edited) of my journey with Him. He’s laid specific people on my heart to pray for or call and the timing was perfect. Our family traveled to Kenya, and heard Him call us back home. He’s provided for us to remodel our house.
Through it all, His voice was undeniable. Trust me, I did try to deny!
Then it was June. A lot of that big stuff was over. Answers received. Books written. Decisions made.
And all I’ve heard recently is silence. Whispers.
I don’t know if you can spiritually incline your ear, but I’ve tried. It sounds like this:
“Lord, is that you? It feels like you. It sounds like you but it’s so soft I can’t tell.”
“Why did You turn the volume down? Can You turn it back up?”
In turn, I started praying in a whisper. I figure, if God’s whispering, I might as well join Him! But before all this quiet stuff, my prayers were loud too. There was big stuff to be discussed.
I know He is still there. But I’ve often ignored His voice because I haven’t been clear it’s Him.
It takes greater focus and attention just to listen in times like this. It also takes faith to respond – I’m not as confident. I have to trust that even in my mess-ups, He is there and greater.
Think of Elijah’s story. The Lord passed by Him in a gentle whisper. But Elijah was a prophet. So there would have been times God did speak loud and clear to Him – in the thunder, so to speak.
Have you ever heard Him in the earthquake? In the great wind? In the fire? Sometimes it takes these great cataclysmic events to get our attention.
Maybe now that He has our attention, His voice returns to a whisper.
That’s what the past two years have been. Loud. And now that I’m listening…He’s whispering.
Honestly, I long to hear Him loud and clear again! My humanness goes back to how He spoke before. Like trying to remember where I put my keys, I retrace my steps thinking it will come to me.
Ok, it was right here God spoke to me last. I was doing this and going there…
I assume He will speak in the same way, in the same voice. But that doesn’t take much faith!
What I’m learning to love about my Savior is He’s never boring or predictable. He wants my heart. He wants me to listen. All this takes faith. Faith to see where He’s moving and join Him there.
I hope your faith is growing along with mine as we explore this topic of faith every day for 31 days. If you’re just now joining me, you can catch up on all my posts HERE.
Julie Steck 