Be Still Before the Lord

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;  (Ps. 37:7 ESV)

​In 1 Kings 19 we find Elijah hiding in a cave from Jezebel for fear that she is seeking to kill him.  And while he is hiding in the cave, we are told the word of the Lord came to him saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v.9).  Elijah replies that is hiding because all God’s prophets have been killed and only he is left.  The voice then instructs him to “go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.”  When he does so, we then read that “the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks 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 the sound of a low whisper.”  When he hears that low whisper, he wraps his face and goes outside and then God speaks to him, giving him instructions, saying, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.”  The point is that Elijah was going through something very difficult.  He was hiding in a cave for fear that someone was trying to take his life.  And when he looked for God, he did not find him in the wind.  He did not find him in the earthquake, and he did not find him in the fire.  Elijah finds God in the still small whisper.  So often when we are going through the furnace of life, as we cry out to God, we find ourselves looking for some major sign from God.  We want a neon sign making it clear what we should do or the decision we should make.  But rather than look for God in the wind or in the earthquake or in the fire, we should listen for his voice in the still quietness of his word and in prayer.  As the Psalmist says, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (37:7).