“… Then a great and powerful wind tore the 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.”
- 1 Kings 19:11-12
I’ve noticed humans expect God to make a little noise.
Big miracle.
Big answer.
Big sign from heaven.
Something that says, “Yep. That was definitely God.”
Dogs are different.
We notice the little stuff.
A cat three yards over.
A cheese wrapper opening in another room.
Somebody quietly whispering the word “treat or walk” from somewhere in the house.
We know how to listen.
My human could learn something from us.
This morning he was sitting with his Bible and coffee reading about Elijah.
Now Elijah had seen God do some BIG things. Fire-from-heaven kind of things.
But in 1 Kings 19, Elijah wasn’t standing victoriously on a mountaintop.
He was hiding in a cave.
Tired.
Discouraged.
Afraid.
Probably wondering where God was.
Ever been there?
Then came a mighty wind.
But God wasn’t in the wind.
Then an earthquake.
Not there either.
Then fire.
Still no.
And then…
A whisper.
And Elijah heard God.
That’ll preach.
Because sometimes we’re so busy looking for God to shake the mountain that we miss Him whispering beside us.
He’s in the big moments, sure.
But He’s also in Tuesday morning.
In the first sip of coffee.
In the Scripture that suddenly hits differently.
In the friend who calls.
In the unexpected kindness.
In the prayer whispered behind a steering wheel.
In the sunrise.
In the silence.
In the ordinary, everyday, nothing-special-about-this moment.
Even in an old black dog laying his head across his human’s knee saying, without saying anything at all…
“Sit here awhile.”
My human sometimes feels incredibly close to God.
Other days?
Not so much.
But I’ve learned something watching him.
God’s presence doesn’t depend on our ability to feel Him.
The God of the mountaintop is still God in the cave.
The God of Sunday morning is still God on Thursday afternoon.
The God who answered yesterday is still God while you’re waiting today.
And when He seems a million miles away?
He hasn’t gone anywhere.
Maybe we have simply allowed the noise to drown out the whisper.
So slow down today.
Put the phone down.
Turn the television off.
Open your Bible.
Take a walk.
Sit on the porch.
Scratch your old dog behind the ears.
Pray.
And listen.
Because God is still speaking in the big moments, the ordinary moments, the hard moments, the holy moments and all those moment-by-moment moments in between.
You may be waiting for God to shout.
But perhaps today He’s leaning close enough to whisper:
“I’m still here.
I’ve always been here.
And I’m not going anywhere.”
Sometimes faith isn’t hearing God above the noise.
Sometimes faith is trusting Him enough to get quiet.
Listen closely, my friend.
The whisper may be closer than you think.
And take it from an old dog…
the One whispering is even closer.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
