There is a story in the Bible, found in 1 Kings 19. It is the story of a great servant of God who was discouraged and afraid. He felt beaten, and he felt he would soon lose his life. Feeling this way was bad enough; far worse was the timing. That story starts in the previous chapter. Elijah had just won a great contest in front of the people of Israel. He had stood up “alone” against 850 prophets of false gods, and Elijah had won. The people were professing they would follow the LORD God again. However, there was a queen who wanted the people people of Israel to follow the religion of those prophets Elijah had defeated and killed. This queen, Jezebel, swore she would kill Elijah within the next 24 hours. So Elijah ran away for his life and had sat down in a desolate are and wanted to die.
Now, Elijah had not really been alone when he stood up against those 850 prophets. The LORD God had been with him the whole time. That is why he won. However, in the fear of running for his life, Elijah lost confidence. Other prophets of the LORD God had been killed, and he saw the same fate awaiting him. What did the LORD God do to help Elijah? He had him take a journey.
So Elijah went on a 40 day hike to a mountain where God revealed himself. He sent a powerful wind to rip some of the mountain, and he caused a powerful earthquake, and after that, he sent a raging fire across the mountain. Such powerful displays, but the LORD God was not in any of them. Then there was a very gentle whisper. That was how the LORD God revealed himself, in a gentle whisper. Elijah heard, was helped and continued his life for the LORD.
In a culture where might and power is exalted, we have much to learn from this story. We expect God to reveal himself in mighty ways, the bigger the better. When we ourselves get disheartened, we pray for such a revealing from God. How many times, though, does the LORD God reveal himself in a gentle whisper of some kind and we miss it because we were waiting for a bigger show? Perhaps we need to take our own journey of sorts so that we can learn to hear the gentle whispers of God. If you are feeling a deep need to hear God, I encourage you to withdraw to a place of solitude, open a Bible, and read and pray yourself through it until you hear the LORD God speak to you. It might just feel like a gentle whisper.
Escuchando el Susurro de Dios
Hay una historia en la Biblia, que se encuentra en 1 Reyes 19. Es la historia de un gran siervo de Dios que estaba desanimado y asustado. Se sentía derrotado y sentía que pronto perdería la vida. Sentirse así era bastante malo; mucho peor era el momento. Esa historia comienza en el capítulo anterior. Elías acababa de ganar una gran competencia frente al pueblo de Israel. Se había enfrentado “solo” a 850 profetas de dioses falsos, y Elías había ganado. El pueblo estaba profesando que volvería a seguir al SEÑOR Dios. Sin embargo, había una reina que quería que el pueblo de Israel siguiera la religión de esos profetas que Elías había derrotado y asesinado. Esta reina, Jezabel, juró que mataría a Elías en las próximas 24 horas. Entonces Elías huyó para salvar su vida y se sentó en un lugar desolado y quiso morir.
Entonces Elías emprendió una caminata de 40 días hacia una montaña donde Dios se reveló. Envió un viento poderoso que desgarró parte de la montaña y provocó un poderoso terremoto, y después de eso, envió un fuego furioso a través de la montaña. Eran manifestaciones muy poderosas, pero el Señor Dios no estaba en ninguna de ellas. Luego hubo un susurro muy suave. Así fue como el Señor Dios se reveló, en un suave susurro. Elías escuchó, recibió ayuda y continuó su vida para el Señor.
En una cultura donde se exalta la fuerza y el poder, tenemos mucho que aprender de esta historia. Esperamos que Dios se revele de maneras poderosas, cuanto más grandes, mejor. Cuando nosotros mismos nos desanimamos, oramos para que Dios nos revele de esa manera. Sin embargo, ¿cuántas veces el Señor Dios se revela en un suave susurro de algún tipo y nos lo perdemos porque estábamos esperando un espectáculo mayor? Tal vez debamos emprender nuestro propio viaje para poder aprender a escuchar los suaves susurros de Dios. Si sientes una profunda necesidad de escuchar a Dios, te animo a retirarte a un lugar de soledad, abrir una Biblia, leerla y orar hasta que oigas al SEÑOR Dios hablarte. Puede que te parezca un suave susurro.
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