Still, Small Voice
“Children! Not so loud! You’re in public!” “Would someone turn the volume down?” “Just calm down and tell me what happened.”
We have, no doubt, heard these words thousands of times in our lives. I’ve seen some people who have even taught their dogs to “bark softly.” That’s really cute, but I have no idea how they do it.
In case you have not noticed, we live in a noisy, impatient world that demands instant gratification. We have come off the noisiest election in recent memory and the noise has not settled yet. We are STILL fighting.
One of my favorite people preached at our church recently on quiet surprises. Joe Noonan, MVNU Chaplain, gave an illustration centered on Elijah when he reported that the answer to Israel’s spiritual and political problems was not stronger armies, or arms development, or filling up prisons, or destruction of those against us. The answer to their problems was found in Isaiah 7:14, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The answer was…a baby.
That seems like a totally preposterous idea, yet, that’s exactly what God did.
Another place, Elijah had just come off a major victory over the prophets of Baal. After the prophets engaged in self flagellation for several hours, Elijah was told by God to build a trench and fill it with water. Then Elijah prayed this simple prayer, "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.“ (1 Kings 18:36). Then God sent fire that licked up all the water in the trench, and consumed the sacrifice on the altar and everything in the area. Ultimately the prophets of Baal were all slain. Yeah, that was quite a major victory.
However, soon after, Elijah was seen hiding from Jezebel in a cave; fearing for his life. He asked God to show him a sign, and expected an earthquake, wind storm, and fire. However…God waited for him to calm down and spoke to him quietly…in a still, small voice.
We are sometimes guilty of expecting God to act in a specific way; to destroy our enemies, and show his power in an obvious way. Revenge his name! Stand up for his people! To act right now! If we then experience something holding us back or telling us to “calm down; I’ve got this,” we find ourselves watching God work, most of the time in small, quiet ways. If he acted with all his power every time we wanted him to…we would be overwhelmed. We could not tolerate his display of might. He knows that.
It has been said that during times of trial is when we grow, because we discover a lot about ourselves, but most of all what we are willing for God to do for us. At the same time, it is during times of silence that we hear the voice of God; quiet, still, but definitely there.
I remember at times being frustrated over something, wanting action right away. Or, someone said something on Facebook, and I really wanted to tear into them and tell them what they need to know; set them straight. I would then be stopped by this small, quiet voice saying, “No, not like that,” or maybe not at all. There have also been times when I went ahead and responded to something inappropriately and later went back and deleted it because of that quiet probing.
I have found great strength and direction in Psalm 46 lately. The first verse states that God is our “refuge and strength.” There are other verses following that state that no matter what happens God is still who he says he is. Then verse 10 tells us, quietly, to “Be still…” Just listen for his quiet voice. We are told to do nothing but "...know that I am God."
Let’s learn to be quiet; to not respond the way our emotions tell us; to hold off giving that person a piece our mind; to pause before making a response.
Let’s listen for that still, small voice…just listen.
Thanks be to God.
