Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read 1 Kings 19:9-13.
Many favorite scriptures have been with me since childhood, but somehow I had missed this wonderful scripture until my mid-forties! And I continue to gain new insights each time I read and study it!
The initial insight is that the prophet Elijah learns that sometimes, rather than in the big fanfare and dramatic experiences of life, God speaks in a “gentle whisper.”
And understandably within this we recall the Psalmist’s wisdom, from Psalm 46, that to hear God’s gentle whisper, we must “be still and know that God is God.” But if we make this conditional, we can miss another important insight.
In the previous chapter, the Prophet Elijah has faced off and won against the 450 prophets of the god of Baal to determine that the God of Israel is the one true God. But now in this chapter, Elijah has lost all confidence and is afraid for his life because he has heard that Queen Jezebel is intent on killing him. Elijah is hiding in fear in a cave, and he feels completely alone.
But Elijah’s perception that he is completely alone is mistaken. Elijah later learns (in I Kings 19:18) that God has kept seven thousand free from bowing down to Baal in Israel. And Romans 11:1-6 highlights this story reminding us all that God’s love and grace is greater and beyond our expectations.
Too often, we place our own limitations on God’s dynamic presence in our lives and in our world. There is a future for Elijah beyond the cave. Yes, God’s grace beyond measure can often surprise us!
Personal Worship Option:
God’s gentle whispering voice met Elijah in the depths of his fears. God can meet you where you are and speak grace into your life, too! “Lord, open my ears so that I may hear your gentle voice in both the stillness and the busyness of my life today. Amen.”
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