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. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:12-13 NIV
In this passage we find Elijah hiding away in a cave, frozen in fear after facing a death threat from Queen Jezebel. God speaks to Elijah in the cave and asks him why he is there. God tells Elijah to stand at the mouth of the cave and Elijah will feel God’s presence. First there was a mighty wind, then a great earthquake, and finally a huge inferno. But Elijah could not feel God’s presence in them. Then there was a gentle whisper. And Elijah knew that God was in the whisper, enough so that he covered his face with his cloak. God in this whisper tells him, no more hiding away in the cave, God has a mission for him.
It was the quiet voice that wouldn’t let him remain where he was. It’s the same voice that won’t let us remain as we are as well. The voice that tells us to take the blinders off. There is a great big world out there. There is an awesome and powerful God who created this wondrous universe that gives our life purpose. Left to ourselves we settle for less. Just what we want. We adapt and adjust to the world around us just enough to get what we want. We look at the world as what it can do for me. Yet God makes us yearn for something more. God speaks to us with more. There is more - more life, more blessing, more abundance of the things in life that truly matter. Eternal things.
Our attention may be diverted somewhere else. But God persists. His voice will never leave us alone.