Christ Church Daily Devotion May 15 2024

The scripture from 1 Kings chapter 19, verses 9-13 tells the story of Elijah hearing God's voice in a gentle whisper. It emphasizes that God's presence is not always in big and dramatic experiences, but also in the stillness. Elijah, feeling alone and fearful, later learns that he is not alone and that God's love and grace surpass our expectations. The message encourages us to be open to God's voice in both the quiet and busy moments of our lives. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for May 15, 2024. Today we will be reading from 1 Kings chapter 19, verses 9 through 13. And the word of the Lord came to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. The Lord said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? Many favorite scriptures have been with me since childhood, but somehow I have missed this wonderful scripture until my mid-forties, and I continue to gain new insights each time I read and study it. The initial insight is that the prophet Elijah learns that sometimes rather than in the big fanfare and dramatic experiences of life, God speaks in a gentle whisper. And understandably within this, we recall the psalmist's wisdom from Psalm 46, that to hear God's gentle whisper, we must be still and know that God is God. But if we make this conditional, we can miss another important insight. In the previous chapter, the prophet Elijah has faced off and won against the 450 prophets of the God of Baal. To determine that the God of Israel is the one true God. But now in this chapter, Elijah has lost all confidence and is afraid for his life because he has heard that Queen Jezebel is intent on killing him. Elijah is hiding in fear in a cave and he feels completely alone. But Elijah's perception that he is completely alone is mistaken. Elijah later learns in 1 Kings 19, 18, that God has kept 7,000 free from bowing down to Baal in Israel. In Romans 11, 1-6, highlights this story, reminding us all that God's love and grace is greater and beyond our expectations. Too often we place our own limitations on God's dynamic presence in our lives and in our world. There is a future for Elijah beyond this cave. Yes, God's grace beyond measure can often surprise us. Your personal worship option today, God's gentle whispering voice met Elijah in the depths of his fears. God can meet you where you are and speak grace into your life too. Lord, open my ears so that I may hear your gentle voice in both the stillness and the busyness of my life today. Amen.