The last few years had been ridiculously difficult and amazingly rewarding in equal parts. Elijah had doggedly followed God, doing His will, even when it wasn’t pleasant or popular. Prophesying a drought probably tanked his popularity. Food from the mouths of ravens doesn’t sound like it would hit high on the pleasant scale. But Elijah had been blessed to participate in an amazing list of miracles. Not the least of which was that contest on Mount Carmel. That was exhilarating. The power of God sweeping down in raging flames, consuming a waterlogged sacrifice, wood, stones, and dust was something Elijah wouldn’t have missed for the world.
But, after the fact, when he was standing up there on Mount Carmel, praying for rain, well, he’d had fewer moments that tested his faith so severely. It must have felt like an eternity passed as Elijah stood there waiting for the Lord to answer his prayer. Every time he sent his servant to check for rain, he received the same answer, “Nothing.” Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five. Six. Finally, on the seventh time, the servant came back with news that wouldn’t seem at all promising to us. A cloud the size of a man’s hand. That’s not a very big cloud. One wouldn’t likely believe it could hold enough rain to end a years’ long drought. It was great news to Elijah. In faith, he tells Ahab to get home before the rain stops him. Sure enough. The clouds roll in, dark and threatening. The wind picks up. A few drops fall, then the heavens break loose and a torrential downpour ensues. Elijah, in yet another miraculous expression of God’s power, becomes a sprinter and races all the way to Jezreel, beating the rain his prayers have inspired. (I Kings 17-18)
Oddly, he doesn’t get a hero’s welcome. He isn’t greeted by people choosing to follow God and reject the status quo. He isn’t invited to dine at the palace. He doesn’t receive a safe place to stay. No. He is issued a royal death threat and, in very real fear for his life, he flees. More than a month later, exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, Elijah finds himself in a cave on Mount Sinai. He’s had it. He’s done. Loneliness. Death threats. It’s all too much. The dark clouds of depression are gathering. Elijah wants to die.
But God had another plan. A plan to give Elijah what he needed more than the good sulk in which he was indulging. A plan to show Elijah that even when you are exhausted in every way, when you feel no one is listening to your preaching, when it seems you are the only one truly following God, when you want to quit, give up, your strength to keep going is gone, the Lord wants to spend time with you, talk to you, restore you. I can almost see Elijah’s defeated self, head hanging in dejection as he hunkered down in that cave. He’s hiding for his life. Bereft of friends, help, hope, the darkness seems to be closing in around him. God, looking down on His servant, sees his loneliness, his despair, his need for refreshing, and God has a plan. “Come out of your cave, your depression, your well of self-pity, and stand on the mount before God. The Lord is going to pass by.”
So Elijah, in a grand gesture of faithful dedication to the God he knew always kept His word, gathered himself together and went, stood at the mouth of his cave, and waited. He didn’t speak. He didn’t look around. He quietly waited for the Lord to pass by, just as He said He would do. And the Lord did pass by, not in the wind that shattered the rocks, not in the earthquake that made the mountain sway, not in the fire that began without natural cause. Although He performed those things, neither the answers nor the voice Elijah was looking for was in those events. But once they were over, once God had Elijah’s full attention, then came the most important part, the still small voice. The voice of courage. The voice of hope. The voice of strength. The voice that told him how to accomplish God’s plan. (I Kings 19)
I wonder what would have happened if Elijah hadn’t gone out on that mountain. What if he hadn’t trusted God to do what He said He would do? How would the story of Elijah read if he hadn’t gone out to experience the presence of God? What if he’d been talking too much or wandering around the mountainside and missed that still small voice? And what about us? What will happen to us if we don’t sit still, stop talking, stop doing, and listen to God when He speaks? What will we miss if we aren’t still, aren’t listening?
We are so not good at stillness. In fact, we are very bad at the still times. We live in a world that makes us feel like we have to constantly be moving, working, doing. If we aren’t physically moving, we have a screen in front of us that is occupying our minds, making us feel busy. We don’t take time to lay aside the phone, the tablet, turn off the television, shut out the busyness of the world, sit silently and wait for the still small voice of God.
It’s the lesson Jesus taught in Luke 10. Martha, busy hustling and bustling to prepare a feast, complains to Jesus that Mary isn’t pulling her weight. There she is, just sitting at Jesus’ feet in rapt attention listening to Him teach. Doesn’t she realize she should be helping? Doesn’t she know there are things to be done? But Jesus tells her, “Martha, don’t be so worried with all the details. You only need to be worried about one thing. Mary knows what that is and will not be made to sacrifice it for something of lesser value.” (Luke 10:38-41)
So what are you busy with that is more important than hearing from God? What is more important than time spent reading His Word, talking to Him, and listening when He speaks back? Is your job worth more to you than Jesus? Is social media, your favorite sitcom, a new novel keeping you from listening to God? Is it a hobby, housework, homework? What is keeping you from sitting still and listening to Jesus when He speaks? And what are you missing because you don’t?
Maybe it’s none of those things. Maybe, like Elijah, you’ve been burning the candle at both ends in work for God. Maybe you’ve been bombarding Heaven’s door for lost souls, a lost nation, a lost world. Maybe you feel like your work is useless, your efforts in vain. Maybe the ugly little voice of the evil one is telling you no one else believes in God and the Bible and you should just give up. Maybe you are exhausted emotionally, physically, spiritually. You too need to step back, sit still, be quiet, and let God do the talking.
You see, regardless of your reason for not being still, the fact remains, constant busyness makes us miss things we absolutely cannot afford to miss. The sound of God’s voice. The touch of His hand. The silent, guiding, pointing of His finger toward the proper path. We miss the offered comfort. We miss the proffered peace. We miss the opportunity to rest in safety. We miss the lessons He wants to teach. We short sell ourselves, our souls, our faith. Quite frankly, we miss the miraculous He wants us to see because we are too busy focusing on the cares of this life, the busyness of our calling, the things we deem more important than a still, small voice.
I don’t know what is standing in your way today. Maybe quietness makes you uncomfortable. Maybe stillness makes you anxious. Maybe you are afraid you won’t like what God has to say when He speaks. Whatever it is, I encourage you to lay it aside. Calm your soul. Quiet your heart. Find your cave. Sit down and wait for the Lord to come by. And He will come by. He won’t leave you stranded there. He has heard the cry of your heart. He has seen the horrible pit, the miry clay in which you feel entrenched. He is ready to pull you out, to lift you up, to plant your feet on the Rock and put a new song in your mouth. (Psalm 40:1-3) So get busy being still. Calm down. Sit down. Quiet down. Pay attention. You don’t want to miss a second of this. You don’t want to miss one word. The Lord is about to pass by. (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 62:5; Job 6:25; Jeremiah 29:13)