The Lord Speaks

'But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”' 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NLT)

And God calls us out of our slump to go to the mountain and to be His very own prophet. We don't like what we see in our very own culture. We seek His face and we see His mighty power manifested through nature in the wind, earthquakes and fires. That's never enough though. Through it all we are reminded that it is His Voice that we fear the most. Sometimes, He even says to us,'What are you doing here?'

Of course there is a time to rest and there is also a time to act. He never lets us rest for very long and He brings us out of our hibernating caves of rebellion with His voice.  He reminds us to obey and that we are to be where He has called us to be and to do what He has called us to do. For it is not by might nor by power but by my Spirit sayeth the Lord that He reaches our soul. It is in that still small voice that we are moved to worship Him and that is where we find Him. In the habits of returning to Him is where we find our strength. When the whole earth is shaking and the things around us are crumbling, it is when He speaks to us that we are inspired by His voice and encouraged to go and to make a difference.

Follow His voice. Seek what needs to be sought. Repair what needs to be fixed. Heal and mend the broken parts of our lives and calm the fears that torment. There is a season of rest that He is calling us to and through it all, know that He is there. Then, rise and be the voice and the person that He has called you to be to a world that needs all of those things. The Lord speaks to the lost through us. And there is nothing that we need fear with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It's time to build another altar to the Lord.

Where are you Lord? Don't deny the call. Obey. He won't give up. The needs are many. He will keep calling us until we do.

Dear Father. Thank you for Your Word. That you for Your call. Thank you for speaking so very clearly and directly to us, even now. Forgive us when we have failed to hear you. Thank you for never giving up on us. We praise You during the storms and during the most perfect of days. Thank you for saving us. Restore Your altars and bring back Your prophets. In Jesus's name. Amen.