Hearing God's voice
"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." 1 Kings 19:11-12
After the great victory against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, Elijah cowered before Jezebel's threat and fled to Mt. Horeb, hiding in a cave. God came to him and asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah then boasted about himself, how bad the people were, bemoaned that he was
Image via Wikipedia the only one left, and they were seeking his life. God told Elijah to go outside the cave where he was given a real show: a tornado-like wind ripping up the mountain, an earthquake, a fire.
But after each, a strange comment was made: "but the Lord was not in the wind... or the earthquake... or the fire." Elijah had obviously retreated back into the cave during the tumult of the three powerful forces, for after the show was over and he heard a still, small voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and came out and stood in the entrance of the cave. God then asked him the same question again and, unbelievably, Elijah responded with the same pathetic answer. It was then that God instructed him to go and anoint his successor.
This has been one of my favorite passages. No matter how great you think you are, no matter how grand are your "victories," you and I are mere mortals who can panic and run at the "boo" of a Jezebel and then get the "poor me's" and think way too much of ourselves and start to believe we are the only one that cares or knows or understands or... whatever.
That's when God shows up and flips on the "power" display to help us get the picture: we are a whole lot smaller than we think.
I think I had gotten a case of the "poor me's" as well....
After the great victory against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, Elijah cowered before Jezebel's threat and fled to Mt. Horeb, hiding in a cave. God came to him and asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah then boasted about himself, how bad the people were, bemoaned that he was
Image via Wikipedia the only one left, and they were seeking his life. God told Elijah to go outside the cave where he was given a real show: a tornado-like wind ripping up the mountain, an earthquake, a fire. But after each, a strange comment was made: "but the Lord was not in the wind... or the earthquake... or the fire." Elijah had obviously retreated back into the cave during the tumult of the three powerful forces, for after the show was over and he heard a still, small voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and came out and stood in the entrance of the cave. God then asked him the same question again and, unbelievably, Elijah responded with the same pathetic answer. It was then that God instructed him to go and anoint his successor.
This has been one of my favorite passages. No matter how great you think you are, no matter how grand are your "victories," you and I are mere mortals who can panic and run at the "boo" of a Jezebel and then get the "poor me's" and think way too much of ourselves and start to believe we are the only one that cares or knows or understands or... whatever.
That's when God shows up and flips on the "power" display to help us get the picture: we are a whole lot smaller than we think.
I think I had gotten a case of the "poor me's" as well....
