I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. – Ephesians 1:17
In 1 Kings 19, we read that Elijah believed he was the only man left who was following God. As a prophet of the Lord, he spent his time warning the Israelites to stop following false gods and to return to the one true God. He was a zealous man, heartbroken that the Israelites had broken down God’s altars, rejected His covenants, and even killed His prophets. And to top it off, his own life was in danger as the queen was planning to kill him.
Certain that he was soon to meet his death, Elijah went and spent the night in a cave. God though, told him to go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, because He was going to pass by.
Three things happened next
- A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart, shattering the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind.
- Next, an earthquake shook the ground, causing the earth below Elijah’s feet to tremble. I’m sure that by this time, Elijah himself was trembling. But once again, the Lord was not in the shifting of the earth beneath his feet.
- Next came a raging fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire, though, came a gentle whisper. And that is where Elijah found God.
How often, in the constant roar of life, do we actually stop and look for God, pausing to seek His face?
Most of the time, life seems to be rushing past us like a fierce whirlwind or earthquake.
Commitments keep us jumping, disaster spins round us, and the urgent takes over the important.
But it’s often in the stillness of a morning sunrise, the beauty of a single bloom, the quite touch of a friend, or in the pages of His Word where we encounter God face to face.
PS: Lisa loves the fact that she and her mother, Erma Lee Ort, who lives in the United States and has always encouraged her to seek those encounters with God, wrote this devotional together.
Lisa Harris and her family have spent over ten years living as missionaries in Mozambique where she writes romantic suspense, leads a women’s group, and runs a non-profit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry to provide for people’s physical needs. When she’s not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari.
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