Still Small Voice
1 Kings 19:11-12 “and a great and strong wind rent 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 [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.”
I spent hours of my youth sitting along the banks of the lake watching the small waves ripple in to the shore. The waves spoke to me and each one offered a bit of the still, small voice that drew me closer to Christ.
Other times, my walks carried me to the top of a large hill overlooking the lake. The wind would blow through my hair and in that breeze I could feel the still, small voice revealing another piece of Christ to my heart.
One day, a man said to me, “you are in the wrong place.” I turned and walked another way and did not even stop to listen for that still, small voice that had been with me all of my life.
How easy it was for me to lose that connection and to trust the physical man instead of the heart. One step of not listening led to another and that led to a place where it was almost impossible for me to stand still long enough to listen.
I am still clawing my way back to that place where I can just sit by the waters and listen to the waves. The chaos of the world around me has grown and it seems much easier to make excuses than to do what I need to do today.
Getting One Step Closer
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1. I will choose to take a walk down to the creek and sit for a moment to listen to the music of the water.
2. I will choose to turn off the television long enough to walk in the other room and read a chapter in the bible study that I received.
3. I will choose to start the day off doing what needs to be done so I am not rushed to do them later.
4. I will choose to turn on music that will make my heart dance even if it is only in the background – it is amazing what the mind picks up and plants in the heart.
5. I will choose to feed my body with the same care that I am feeding my mind – making good, positive and healthy choices.
6. I will choose to spend fifteen minutes enjoying the sun!
I know that everything in my life comes back to choice. The path that I walk, the thoughts that I think and even the situations that come up are all the result of choices that I have made. The closer I am to that still, small voice and the more I listen to the message it brings then the better each choice will be.
What is leading you today? Choose to find the quiet that will allow you to hear that still, small voice.
Kathryn, what a great post! I love to be by the water. So soothing. It is so important to have a listening ear. I wrote this in my book…
The Still Small Voice has no destination if there is no listening ear! If we do not listen, scripture says, “God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to Him.” Do you blame Him? He says, “Oh, that My people would listen to Me.”
It only costs us our time to listen but it costs us our quality of life not to listen!
Hey Lynn, thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to share. I used to love sitting by the water as well – there is just something about the music of the moving water . . .
But even though I live beside that creek in the picture, I think I’ve only spent one or two moments by the water in the last fifteen years. I forget what peace it brings – kind of like I forget what peace that still small voice brings.