Celebrating The Original Voice That Rocked the Night!
June 23, 2013
I Kings 19:11-18
Last week I heard an advertisement for the hit show, The Voice.
They were promoting the finale where the top performer was
going to be crowned. Now I have to confess that I have never
watched a full episode. I have only seen bits and pieces. It seems
like an interesting show. Stars like Blake Shelton, Christina
Aguilera and Usher work with amateur singers and help them
reach the top. Last Tuesday night 16 year old Danielle Bradbery
was named the Voice.
As I heard the news, it struck me that of all the voices we hear in
our lives, the one that is often shrouded in the most confusion is
the voice of God.
This week I begin a series of messages profiling some of the
prominent figures in the Old Testament. Each week I hope to
bring to life one of these characters and talk about those qualities
that make them stand out as heroes of our faith.
This week we begin with Elijah. He is called the greatest of the
prophets of Israel, yet he is not remembered for a book with his
prophetic words. It was his actions and his walk with God that
stands out.
In his study, biblical scholar Dr. John Whitcomb introduces Elijah
by saying,
“Like a meteor suddenly flashing across the darkened sky, Elijah appears on the scene without historical
background and without warning.”
We meet Elijah in the book of I Kings in about 860 BC as he
stands up to King Ahab and declares that God is going to send a
drought as punishment for Israel’s sins under his reign. His name,
Elijah, means, “My God is Yahweh.” That alone should have
intimidated King Ahab but in his arrogance he pretty much
ignored Elijah at first.
After three and a half years of a drought, the two of them
reconnect. This time Elijah challenges Ahab and all of his false
gods to a test. As the priests run around and try every trick in the
book, Elijah watches and waits.
When the priests give up, Elijah takes over. In a dazzling display
of God’s power, the skies open and rain fills the land. You would
think that Elijah would have been welcomed by the king with
open arms after that but just the opposite happened. Elijah
became a marked man and had to flee for his life.
There are times in life when we can identify with Elijah. You do
the right thing, you stand with God and you get burned for it.
Instead of receiving congratulations you get stabbed in the back,
spit at and mocked. The life of a believer is not always easy as
Elijah’s story shows. Just ask Tim Tebow or Tony award winner,
Kristen Chenowith or television producer Martha Williamson.
Although they have had huge successes in life, they have all
walked through the dark valleys as well.
It is in those dark moments that we wish God would open the
heavens and speak to us. I have been there and so have you. I
think that is why Elijah's story speaks to us. Elijah might as well
be singing that old negro spiritual...
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Nobody knows my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Glory hallelujah!
Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down. Oh, yes, Lord
Sometimes I'm almost to the ground. Oh, yes, Lord
The good news is that Elijah's story tells us that God is listening.
Someone said, "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his
child."
There is so much truth in that. Sometimes in our most frantic
hours, what we really need is to be quiet before the Lord so that
we can hear him speak the words that will calm our fears.
James Hamilton writes:
Before refrigerators, people used ice houses to preserve their food. Ice houses had thick walls, no windows,
and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut,
hauled to the ice houses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.
One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking
through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile.
A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the ice house during the noon hour and soon
emerged with the watch.
Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.
"I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch
ticking."
The question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are
being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear.
We will have our challenges. We will get knocked down. We will
lose our battles. But we must remember that God is never far
from us and if we stop and listen, we will hear his voice.
Elijah was so discouraged that he wanted to die. He had made a
major stand for God and now he felt abandoned. All he could hear
were the threats of Jezebel and Ahab. All he could hear was the
crowd. As he sat under that tree
Ann Landers had this to say about the letters that she has received over the years. "I've learned plentyincluding, most meaningfully, what Leo Rosten had in mind when he said, 'Each of us is a little lonely,
deep inside, and cries to be understood.' I have learned how it is with stumbling, tortured people in this
world who have nobody to talk to. The fact the column has been a success underscores, for me at least, the
central tragedy of our society, the disconnectedness, the insecurity, the fear that bedevils, cripples and
paralyzes so many of us. I have learned that financial success, academic achievement, and social or
political status open no doors to peace of mind or inner security. We are all wanders, like sheep, on this
planet."
Life can make us feel that our actions make no difference. In his
book Second Thoughts, Mort Crim writes,
"Fairy tales are wonderful because they always have the prince and the princess living happily ever after.
Of course life isn't a fairy tale. And in the real world the prince may run off with the secretary; the princess
may walk out on the family to find herself; the royal offspring may do drugs; and a downsizing at the plant
may leave the entire family on the brink of bankruptcy.
Once we accept the fact that bad things do happen to good people, then we can get on with the business of
living life to its fullest: giving, loving, creating, sharing, building, walking through every door of
opportunity offered by this fragile, unpredictable, exciting experience called life."
That's great advice but still difficult when we feel that we are
scraping bottom. But in Jesus Christ there is more than good
advice. There is hope and the power of God for our situation.
When we feel that nothing we do matters we must listen for the
voice of God and rely upon His power.
The good news is that God takes over when our strength is gone.
The Lord had called Elijah aside to help him regain his focus. He
needed physical and spiritual strength and God helped him find it.
That’s what God does. He speaks to us when in our darkest
moments. When all seems lost. It wasn't long after Elijah arrived
at the cave on Mt. Sinai that he heard the voice of God.
Instead of giving him instruction or sympathy God asked him a
question. He said, "What are you doing here Elijah?"
That was probably the last question Elijah expected. You can
almost sense his attitude. "In case you've missed something
Lord, I'm running for my life!" Of course God knew why he was
there. He had been with him the whole time. The point was to get
Elijah to realize that he had never been alone. God wanted Elijah
to realize that god was in control even when it seemed like the
world had a mind of its own.
I think Elijah was waiting for a lightning bolt from the sky to set
things straight. I've been there. When things get tough, we want
a fantastic display of God's power to show the world who is boss
and to back us up in what we are doing. I think that is why we
ended up feeling disappointed far too often. God doesn't work
that way.
God doesn't always show up in an obvious manner. We see that
in our text. It says the "Lord passed by" but was not in the wind,
was not in the earthquake, was not in the fire. Then there was a
still small voice. A voice that rocked Elijah's world.
It was the same voice that came calling Samuel when he was a
boy. It was the same voice that spoke to Noah and told him to
build an ark. It was the same voice that spoke to Abram and told
him to leave the land of Ur. It was the same voice that spoke to
Mary and told her that she was going to have a child. It was the
same voice that spoke to the other Mary outside the tomb. It was
a voice that made all the difference in the world.
A man by the name of Max DePree related the following hearttouching story:
Esther, my wife, and I have a granddaughter named Zoe, the Greek word for life. She was born prematurely
and weighed one pound, seven ounces, so small that my wedding ring could slide up her arm to her
shoulder. The neonatologist who first examined her told us that she had a 5 to 10 percent chance of living
three days. When Esther and I scrubbed up for our first visit and saw Zoe in her isolette in the neonatal
intensive care unit, she had two IVs in her navel, one in her foot, a monitor on each side of her chest, and a
respirator tube and a feeding tube in her mouth.
To complicate matters, Zoe's biological father had jumped ship the month before Zoe was born. Realizing
this, a wise and caring nurse named Ruth gave me my instructions.
"For the next several months, at least, you're the surrogate father. I want you to come to the hospital every
day to visit Zoe, and when you come, I want you to rub her body and her legs and arms with the tip of your
finger. While you're caressing her, you should tell her over and over how much you love her, because she
has to be able to connect your voice to your touch."
In our hour of need, God does what god does best. He comes to
us and speaks to our fear and reminds us who holds the world in
his hands.
God may be speaking to you today. If you are overwhelmed and
life has got you down, then find a place where you can shut out
the sounds of the world and you will find God there.
God may come to you in a revelation you have never had before.
He may come to you as you read through his holy Word. He may
come to you in phone call or a letter from a friend. He may come
to you in a surprise visit from a stranger.
Elijah's story reaffirms the fact that God does come. He has a
plan and a purpose for our lives and he will not let it be thwarted.
He will open a door for us and lead us through so that his will can
be done and his glory revealed.
Elijah went on to serve God for several more years. He continued
to speak against Ahab, as well as his son, Ahaziah. Then after
passing the mantle of prophesy onto his son in the faith, Elisha,
Elijah was caught up in a whirlwind and carried into heaven.
I pray that you will find the same is true for you. Amen.