If you google "Sound of sheer silence" you will find our passage for today.
Today’s scripture is 1 Kings 19:11-13. The passage is set
after Elijah had killed the prophets of Baal then fled for 40 days in the
desert.
I cannot fathom what it was like for Elijah. He had defended
God, shown God’s power by killing all the prophets of Baal, shed so much
blood, and the dramatic calling down of fire from heaven to burn the soaking
wet offering to Baal. Terrified that Queen Jezebel would have him
murdered, Elijah left to seek God’s presence, but first he had to get to God’s
holy mountain, on the other side of the desert.
That desert comes up again.
The desert is a place of great beauty (as one of you shared with me this
week) and terrible danger; people die of exposure and dehydration in deserts.
Elijah must have been completely spent by the time he reached the holy mountain.
Once there, Elijah felt confident that on this holy
mountain, he would hear what God had to say to him. God was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire. No, Elijah knew when the sound of sheer silence arrived that he was in God's presence.
(Perhaps we can seek God's presence ourselves if we can find 3-5 minutes to just sit in the quiet, not doing anything but breathing and stilling ourselves, not even praying, but just sitting, perhaps then we can begin to hear afresh God's voice.)
This passage, about Elijah on the holy mountain seeking and
listening for God struck me afresh this morning. God asks Elijah more than once,
“Why are you here, Elijah?”
Indeed, why are you here?
Do we, like Elijah, seek to hear God’s voice?
Do we, like Elijah, seek rest for our weary bones?
Or is it something else?
Why are you here?
Oh of course I would love to hear God's voice! I remember when I was a small child asking my grandfather about the time he knew God had spoken to him. Did he hear a voice?, did he see an angel?, how did he know it was really God? I found the answer quite unsatisfactory at the time. He just "knew" and all was well.
ReplyDeleteToday I ask similar questions in regards to myself. How will I know it is really God and not my own thoughts?,
how do I sort out what is from Him and what is just my own impulse or guilt?, what if I unknowingly fail to respond to God's request?, what does God specifically expect of me?, what if I say no?, can I engage God in coversation without feeling like I am talking to myself? have I actually heard or felt the presense of God? (Yes - I do ask alot of questions).
On second thought maybe it is better that I don't hear God, for there is a little part of me that fears what he might want me to do. I remember bits of stories in the Bible about the wild-eyed crazy adventures God asks some people to undertake. I know I do not have the courage or conviction to even attempt anything close to that.
Yet, on the other hand, I still find myself seeking my place in the world, seeking my place with God, looking for the assurance that I, me, myself, am of value to Him, and maybe, just maybe be of good to someone else. Now, if I can only find a way to shut my chattering brain off in order to be silent.
Namaste
Kena Jo