Consider these verses where God told Elijah to listen.
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12
Not long ago, at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, fans broke the record for volume registering 142.2 decibels at one point in the second quarter. That’s louder than a military jet and 12 decibels past the threshold of pain for most people.
You don’t have to watch very much television to realize the volume of the commercials is noticeably louder than the regular programming.
In this political season, you’ll notice that as soon as the candidates start losing on substantive issues, they increase their volume.
It seems everything around us clamors for attention with volume, with bells and whistles and bright colors. With a marked desperation culture yells, “Look at me. Choose me. Love me.”
Noise, and more noise.
God doesn’t need noise. In fact, sometimes His most dramatic, His most personal, His most needed messages come in a whisper. We need to make sure we are ready to listen.
In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah is exhausted and discouraged. He has looked at the nation around him and determined they had completely abandoned God and His precepts. They were enamored with the glamorous queen and the institutionalized idol worship she brought from her homeland.
Elijah felt isolated, alone and powerless. How could he compete with the noise?
Then God told him to stand on the mountain. Elijah witnessed wind powerful enough to tear the rocks in two. It was followed by a terrifying earthquake and then a firestorm. Elijah probably thought THIS was what the people needed. If God manifested Himself with this kind power, they would turn from those silly idols …
But God didn’t speak through the powerful displays. He spoke in a “still, small voice.”
Quiet. Gentle.
The lesson God had for Elijah – I don’t need noise. I don’t need to compete. And for the record, the opposition is not winning.
We go through similar seasons when we feel alone, powerless and isolated. Or when we feel like a thousand different things are demanding our attention and we have trouble even choosing which one to focus on.
Turn down the noise. Stand on the mountain … and listen.