1 Kings 19:11-12 – The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
I have spent so much time in caves like the one Elijah is in; a hypothetical cave, yearning for the Lord’s presence. I’m running from something that is trying to destroy me. I’ve come to a place where I fully believe my only option at this point is to hide and I’m alone, crying out to the Lord. I’m desperate for His presence, desperate for His peace. I want Him to come roaring in like an earthquake and take care of all of my troubles, wipe away my sin and shame with a gust of wind and burn down my fears like a blazing fire.
If you know me personally, you’re aware that I have a big personality. I am confident and bold in who I am, and I walk strongly. For the majority of my journey with the Father, I’ve had an expectation and a strong desire for Him to speak to with a loud and bold voice, because that is who I am, and that is how I communicate; with boldness and sometimes my volume level is a little high. Then, I listened to a sermon by Pastor Matt Reynolds, the pastor of Grace Midtown in Atlanta Georgia.
Elijah is in this dark cave, yearning for the Lord’s presence. The Lord tells Elijah to stand on the mountain, the essence of God was about to be revealed to him. The powerful wind, the earthquake, and the fire are clear symbols of God, but the true essence, of who God is, is a gentle whisper. The word gentle in Hebrew is daq, meaning small. The essence of God is a gentle, small and still whisper.
If we take the time to be still and quiet, we can start being honest. We are left with confronting our thoughts, our feelings, anxieties, fears… what truly drives us.
There is substance in silence.
If we’re never still, we’re always running. If we’re never quiet, we’re not allowing the Lord to speak truth into our minds.
Stillness and quietness is not the lack of something, it’s the presence of the Father and what He is trying to reveal to us.
God is still. His essence is small. Is presence is gentle. But before any of those, He is a voice. God’s voice is something that is personal and intimate. When the Father speaks, miraculous things come into existence.
God spoke and the world was created.
Through Jesus, we are able to see that Gods’ voice is a voice of relationship and intimacy with Him.
John 10:27- My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and the follow me.
Jesus is the embodiment. How do we imitate the embodiment and essence of our Father
Ask yourself if you’re living in a cave right now. How can you cultivate the presence of the Father. Allow yourself the space and opportunity to find the stillness and softness that is the essence of our Father. Imitate who He is, He will speak into the space you give Him; give Him all of it.
