The Susurration of His Voice

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 the sound of a low whisper

1 Kings 19:11-12

 In my past experiences, I’ve seen God show up in huge, obvious ways (like fire) and soft gentle ones too (like a whisper). Most of the time though, the fiery obvious ways stand out so much in my brain, that I forget what the quiet and tender ones sound like. His powerful voice oftentimes makes me forget that God can, and indeed does, speak in whispers. I think we pray for God to move in big fire-like in our lives, and are sometimes disappointed when they don’t come.

This past week has been difficult, so a dear friend of mine prayed that I would see God’s work in my life this week. God’s answer to her prayer reminds me that God can speak to us in whispers too, and oftentimes, they are all the more powerful. 

In my choir class on Monday, my teacher handed us a single page of sheet music. Four parts. Three verses. A cappella. Simple four part harmony. My first thought was that it looked like a hymn. As we began to sight-sing the melody (something I’ve never been good at), I quickly realized that I was reading the piece with ease, as if my brain already knew what was to come next. I realized I had heard the melody before. The sheet music’s melody was the melody of “Be Still My Soul,” an old hymn I remember learning as a young girl. Be Still My Soul. As those words sunk in and I realized what was happening, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Just those four words were exactly  what my soul needed to hear at that moment. Just those four words, that tender whisper, was enough to calm the storm raging in my heart at that moment. And as I later took the time to read the lyrics to the hymn in its entirety, it stilled my soul and warmed my heart even more. 

I believe that God sometimes withholds His powerful, mighty, obvious voice to us, so that we can become aware of His whispers. Yes, our God is a mighty, consuming fire. But He is also a gentle and comforting, tender whisper. So often, a whisper is even more powerful and speaks to us even more than the fire we expect God’s presence and God’s voice to feel like. I was expecting an earthquake, a fire, a wind. Yet in that moment, His whisper was more than enough. 

I pray that God shows up in your lives this week as well. I pray that seeing the work of God is something that we expect and actively wait for. I pray that we learn to watch and  listen not only for the fire and wind, but for the gentle whispers. If we begin to watch for His gentle and tender voice, we may begin to be amazed at how much He speaks to us. 

Ps, I hope this song warms your heart just as it has warmed mine.

Xoxo