Devotional: 1 Kings 19:11-13

1 Kings 19:11-13

11 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; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Something to notice is Elijah’s patience to hear the voice of God. God told him to go to the mountain to be before the Lord. He obeyed and things started happening. A strong wind went by that broke rocks, there was an earthquake and even a fire. He had every reason to think all those “signs” were from God. Those signs were big and obvious. It would have been really convenient for that to be the signs and move on with life. But he waited patiently until he really knew he heard from God. How many times have we taken a “sign” and misinterpreted it to think it was God because it seemed convenient? Like Elijah, we have to take the time to slow down, be patient and wait for God to speak.

So then what did Elijah do when he heard the voice of God? He reacted. He didn’t hesitate or overlook it. He knew that God showed up so he moved (reacted) and positioned himself in alignment with God to hear Him speak. You have to be still enough to listen and be confident enough to know he did speak to you, but then follow through with what you heard Him say. He will continue to guide you and give you purpose.

This scripture made a big impact on my relationship with Micah. It made me realize that I loved Micah and was going to marry him! I finally started listening to that still, small voice instead of looking for big signs. When I finally got the hint and aligned myself with what God was telling me, our relationship was able to move forward. There is fruit and blessing when you listen patiently and react to the voice of God.

My prayer for you:

I pray that you hear the voice of God so clearly that you will NOT hesitate to act on what God is telling you to do you. Nothing will hinder you or distracts you from hearing God clearly. I pray that you don’t feel rushed and act out of convenience. But instead, you have the patience to wait on God and listen to His still small voice.