Have you ever driven past a billboard that had too much information on it to read as you drove by? It’s as if they expected you to slow down long enough to read all that they had to say. What a crazy thought! We live in a world of speed and distraction. Technology helps our lives speed up to 100 mph, accomplishing more and more in our limited time. It’s why we get frustrated when there are three cars in the fast food drive-thru or when we have to wait 45 seconds for something to heat up in the microwave. It’s also why our phones are constantly with us, notifying us, drawing us in, creating a haze of white noise around us that precludes us from ever being quiet. We live in a world of speed and distraction, which is why we don’t hear God like we want to.

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah has an encounter with God on a holy mountain in the desert.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” 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. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 1 Kings 19:11-13

Did you catch that? God wasn’t in the wind, the earthquake or the fire. He wasn’t in the big, the bold, the brash, the loud. God was in the quiet, the gentle, the whisper. Many times God speaks to us in a whisper, not because He’s not strong enough to shout over the distractions in our lives, but because He wants us to slow down long enough to connect with our souls, and our souls are a very quiet place. If you want to hear God, slow down enough to hear the whisper of God.

QUESTION: How are you slowing down on a regular basis to hear the whisper of God? If you’re not, how can you do that this week?