Read the passage here.
Expectations. In the fall, we always expect great things from our favorite football team. For many of us, those expectations slowly go through a shattering process as the season drags on. We then look in hindsight at the preseason polls and say “What happened? I thought this was our year”. Expectations.
I can relate to Elijah in this story. Not because people are trying to kill me, but, in the way his expectations were shattered when it came time to hear God. We all have certain expectations on how and when God should speak. And with His speaking we expect reward and blessing many times. Hey – there’s that word again – expectations. I have been seeking the voice of the Lord for 8 months now. It feels like a fog. A thick, San Francisco-type, pea soup fog. Zero visibility. Question – why should walking with God feel like a fog? Even in the wilderness Moses knew God was leading. Maybe that’s another post for another day.
Back to Elijah and how I can relate.
Elijah was hanging out in a cave. He went to the mouth of the cave many times. Each time something big and powerful and loud happened. Earthquake. Fire. Thunder. Lighting. Powerful winds. The bible says it tore the mountain up. Ol’ Elijah went to the mouth of the cave every time something happened. He was sure God would show up in the obvious. What happened? Nothing. No voice. No God. No answer. No revelation. Nothing. His life was like a Seinfeld episode. A show about nothing. How many times did he go to the mouth of the cave? How long was he even in the cave? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months?
Finally, God speaks.
In a whisper.
Quiet.
Simple.
Think back to the sentence I wrote of Elijah seeking God in the obvious. The whisper wasn’t obvious. I think that’s where we lose our way. Looking for God in the obvious. Looking where we – dare I say it – expect Him to be. Looking in our place of expectation.
Here’s where I am:
1. I want to hear from and walk with God.
2. I want it to be clear resulting in what I have been expecting.
As my friend, Mike Curry, would say – “Oops”.
I see that I want the big, loud, flashy God who gives all that I want and all that I think I deserve and expect. God showed Himself to Elijah in a gentle whisper. That’s what I need to be listening for in this fog that I’ve created. The quiet whisper. The opposite of my expectation. As a matter of fact, my expectations need to die. At the foot of the cross. My expectations need to be replaced with His will. The only thing to desire is God. Not my expectations. Not even His blessings. God must absolutely be enough.
