Elijah has something to teach us. Many things, actually. But one thing in particular: the voice of God is loudest when He whispers.
Over and over again in my life, the whispering call to a new obedience is the thing demanding my response. I shout. He whispers. I shout. He whispers. Often seeming out of place, coming when I least expect it, and with a specificity that keeps me from wriggling away, God's quiet voice instigates some simple step of obedience and leaves me to agree and move.
Whispering is weird. Whereas I can drown out normal conversation, when I hear a distant whispering conversation it makes me want to be quiet and concentrate in order to hear it. (My wife calls it eavesdropping--I call it creative listening.)
Whispered words are by their nature private and personal. They're meant just for the hearer.
Whispers imply intimacy or urgency. Intimacy--"I know you so well that I can breath words into your ear." Urgency--"this situation is so urgent that I must violate your personal space bubble to tell you something that will save your life." I think God uses whispering in both ways.
The other night I received an unexpected whisper--a nudge--that I tuned into and began moving on. It brought pleasure to my heart. Whisper obedience does that.
Gospel action often (always?) starts in whisper obedience. And you're listening for what from God?
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