Listen
30 April 2008I’ve been reading the story about a man named Elijah in the Bible. If you’ve never read the story, go read it now. (1 Kings 18-19) I won’t take time to explain the whole deal, but it is a remarkable story.
Elijah experienced this awesome God thing. It is an incredible story of God’s awesomeness and faithfulness. More than 850 Baal prophets were slaughtered. And, once again, God displayed His majesty. You would think after such a supernatural moment where God proved to everyone present that He was the only TRUE God, Elijah would be feeling pretty good about himself and how God used him to perform a truly supernatural act. But, he wasn’t. After so many prophets were killed, 1 Kings 19:3 says that Elijah became afraid for his life and ran. He was more scared than Miley Cyrus is of losing her fan-base right now.
A few of Elijah’s enemies, mainly Queen Jezebel, weren’t very happy over the fact that Elijah had made them a fool and shown to the world that their false prophets and pagan god’s were no match for THE God that Elijah worshiped. So the Bible says that Elijah ran. How interesting it is how quickly he forgot what God did. Have you ever been there before. I know I have. I have read that book a million and one times. You know, the ones that go something like this: I need God. He shows up and does something amazing. I move on. Another challenge rocks my world. And, quickly I forget what it is that God did the last time, and I focus on my struggle more than I find peace in the middle of it all.
But, and this is why you need to go read the story, God again proves himself faithful. Elijah retreats to Mount Horeb and there he hears the gentle whisper of God’s voice. And, once again, God proved to Elijah that in the quiet of the moment, He is still in control, He is still in charge, He is still God.
This story reminds me again how critical it is that I take time to step back from the noise of life and simply listen to God. Are you taking time to listen? If not, maybe this is exactly what you need too. So think about doing just that. Unplug your phone. Log off of Facebook. Grab your Bible. Read 1 Kings 18-19. And, then…listen.
I am married to Amy. I have two daughters, Bailey and Brynnan. Though we rarely have a winning season, I am a Razorback fan. I am a pastor, author, and communicator. I love teens, ice tea, Mac, and I believe any day is a good day when it is spent on my boat.
on April 30th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
me too…I also need to listen. thanks for the reminder.