Being the Church #27

We talked yesterday about Samuel learning to listen to God, and what an example he is to us that we need to learn the same things. We find that same principle repeated and developed in I Kings 19:

11 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 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?”

Like Eli, Elijah had been listening to God for a long time.  He was mature enough to realize that God does not usually speak through loud, earthshaking events as much as He does that still, small voice. He was wise enough to cover his face when he went out to meet with Holy God; he had not gotten too comfortable with God so as to take this lightly.  And rather than just expecting God to tell him exactly what to do, he had to be willing to answer some soul-searching questions.  As the people of God, we need to be willing to take those quiet times, individually and together, to meet with Him, wait on Him, listen to Him, and do some sincere soul-searching on what in the world we are doing. We need to let Him challenge our path.