God of the Silence
I Kings 19:1-15
Pastor Beth in TN

A good pilot does what it takes to get his passengers home.

Max Lucado tells of a time he was flying somewhere over Missouri. The flight attendant told the passengers to take their seats because of impending turbulence. It was a rowdy flight, and the folks weren’t quick to respond; so she warned them again. “The flight is about to get bumpy. For your own safety, take your seats.”

Most did. But a few didn’t, so she changed her tone, “Ladies and gentlemen, for your own good, take your seats.”

Max thought everyone was seated. But apparently he was wrong, for the next voice they heard was that of the pilot. “This is Captain Brown,” he advised. “People have gotten hurt by going to the bathroom instead of staying in their seats. Let’s be very clear about our responsibilities. My job is to get you through the storm. Your job is to do what I say. Now sit down and buckle up!”

About that time the bathroom door opened, and a red-faced fellow with a sheepish grin exited and took his seat. Max went on to ask, “Was the pilot wrong in what he did? Was the pilot being insensitive or un-thoughtful? No, just the opposite. He would rather the man be safe and embarrassed than uninformed and hurt. Good pilots do what it takes to get their passengers home.

So does God. Here is the key question: How far do you want God to go in getting your attention? If God has to choose between your eternal safety and your earthly comfort, which do you hope He chooses?

If God sees you standing when you should be sitting, if God sees you at risk rather than safe, how far do you want Him to go in getting your attention?

What if he moved you to another land? (As He did Abraham.) What if He called you out of retirement? (Remember Moses?) How about the voice of an angel or the bowel of a fish? (As for Gideon and Jonah.) How about a promotion like Daniel’s, or a demotion like Samson’s?

God does what it takes to get our attention…God is as creative as He is relentless. The same hand that sent manna to Israel sent Uzzah to his death. The same hand that set the children free from Israel also sent them captive to Babylon. Both kind and stern. Tender and tough. Faithfully firm. Patiently urgent. Eagerly tolerant. Softly shouting. Gently thundering.

…God will whisper. He will shout. He will touch and tug. He will take away our burdens; He’ll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and Him, He will take all but one. He will leave the final one for us. The choice is ours.

Please understand. His goal is not to make you happy. His goal is to make you His. His goal is not to get you what you want; it is to get you what you need. And if that means a jolt or two to get you in your seat, then be jolted. Earthly discomfort is a glad swap for heavenly peace.

God wants to get you safely home. Just think of Him as your pilot. Think of yourself as His passenger. And think twice before you get up to go to the potty.

Max Lucado really has a way with words. Today we’re going to take a quick look at a passage of Scripture in which God goes to great lengths to get someone’s attention. Let’s look at I Kings. 19, verses 1-15.

Read I Kings 19:1-15

How quickly we forget!!! Elijah is remembered as one of the greatest prophets in the history of Israel, but we have just seen him acting just like one of us.

In chapter 18, Elijah had the famous contest with the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. He had told the prophets to prepare a bull for a sacrifice, but not to light the fire. He did the same thing. Then Elijah told the prophets of Baal to call upon their gods to burn up the sacrifice. They shouted and prayed and danced, but not a spark or a flicker. Of course not; their gods didn’t even exist.

Then it was Elijah’s turn and he just had to show off, so he had the people pour water over his sacrifice, once, twice, three times. Then Elijah called upon the God of the Israelites to make Himself known, and fire came from heaven and consumed the bull, and the wood, and the stones of the altar , and the water, and the soil underneath. What a victory!!!

Then Elijah had the people kill the 450 prophets of Baal. Then he prayed for it to rain, 3 ½ years after he had prayed for it to stop raining and the dew to stop falling. And, after a 3 ½ year drought, it rained a heavy rain! Elijah told Ahab that the rain was coming and he had better head for home before the rain kept him from going, and then Elijah ran faster than Ahab’s chariot, all the way to Jezreel! Man, the adrenaline must have been pumping! What a rush!!!

Elijah must have felt good; he must have felt powerful; he must have felt like a success. I can just picture him sitting down at the city gates, kicking back and saying, “It just doesn’t get any better than this!”

While Elijah was still sitting there, relishing the victory, a message came from the palace. Jezebel was not impressed by what Elijah had done. She was ticked off. To paraphrase, the message basically said, “Buddy, you are in big trouble. I swear on my life that you will be dead by this time tomorrow!”

Elijah was scared. Elijah…the guy who had just seen the power of God in the fire and rain. Elijah…who had outrun Ahab’s chariot. Elijah…who had heard the voice of God and been fed by ravens. Elijah…who experienced the supernatural provision of flour and oil for bread for the widow, her son, and himself. Elijah…who had raised the boy from the dead. This same Elijah was scared of a woman; so he ran for his life.

He went as far South as he could go and still be in Judah, …then he sat down under a pitiful little tree and asked God to let him die. We learn from Elijah that after triumph comes temptation and, because he was physically and emotionally exhausted, he succumed. He believed that Jezebel really would kill him. He believed that he was the only prophet of God left in Judah. He believed he was the only faithful Israelite left in Judah. He believed he was all alone, so he wanted to die.

Isn’t it strange that he would pray to God to die. Simply in praying that prayer, he was acknowledging that he wasn’t alone: God was there with him. God who had called him. God who had spoken to him. God who had led him and guided him and worked through him. God was with him, but he felt alone and wanted to die.

But God understood what was happening, …so he let Elijah rest, and he sent an angel with food and drink and encouragement. And, when Elijah was rested, and had eaten his fill, he got up and traveled forty days and forty nights to Horeb, also known as Mt. Sinai, and he rested some more.

The Bible doesn’t tell us why Elijah went to Sinai. God didn’t tell him to go there, and Elijah doesn’t give an explanation for it, but I have a theory. I think he went to Sinai because it was a place where God had spoken before. It was on Sinai that God spoke to Moses in a burning bush. And it was on Sinai that God made a covenant with His people and gave the law to Moses, not once, but twice. Sinai was a place where God gave directions and made promises, so Elijah went to Sinai.

And Elijah found what he was looking for. God spoke. But God asked a question, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Think about it Elijah; look deep within your heart; search your soul Elijah, and tell me, “Why are you here?” Here, in this location. Here, in this spiritual state. Here, in an emotional desert. Why are you here?

Elijah has been storing up his frustration for forty days and forty nights, so he lets God have it. “I’ve done everything you told me to do. I’ve been faithful to you; I have loved you; I have proclaimed your word, just like you told me to, and what do I get for it?! Heartache and pain!!! The very people you chose have rejected you and your covenant; they’ve broken down your altars and killed all your prophets; and now they want to kill me, too!”

Can you see what the self-pity of the past few weeks has done to Elijah? Now it’s not a single woman who wants to kill him, but all the Israelite people! In his mind, he’s the only righteous Israelite left. He’s mad and indignant, and he’s just been waiting for a chance to give God a piece of his mind. He reminds me of the scene in the movie, “The Apostle” where Robert Duvall is shaking his fist and shouting at God all night long.

But, the Lord doesn’t rebuke Elijah, He simply tells him to go stand outside the cave because He is going to pass by. “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains 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.”

I love that image. God prepared to pass by and was preceded by mighty demonstrations of His power, but His presence wasn’t in the wind, earthquake or the fire. His presence was in the gentle whisper. The Revised Standard Version translates that verse as, “After the fire there was sheer silence.” Whether it was a gentle whisper or absolute silence, Elijah knew that God was there. He dared not look upon the face of God, so he covered his face with his cloak and went outside to stand in the presence of God. This was the moment he had come for. What would God say? How would He explain what had happened? What promise did God have for him?

What Elijah heard was the same question he had heard when he first arrived at Sinai, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Even though he responded with the same words, I don’t think they carried the same anger or volume that they had the first time. I think Elijah just sort of muttered it under his breath this time, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken 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.”

And God simply told Elijah to go back the way he came, all the way to the desert of Damascus, which was about twice as far as Jezreel. He told him to anoint a new king for Israel and to anoint Elisha to succeed Elijah as prophet. In telling Elijah to anoint Elisha, God was giving Elijah a companion, as well as a successor, because God knew that Elijah needed a friend.

What an amazing story this is! Elijah’s experience tells us so much about the faithfulness of God. God doesn’t ever give up on us, …not when we forget the amazing things He’s done for us in the past, …not when we are discouraged or depressed, …not when we want to give up on our family, our friends, or vocation, or even on life itself. God doesn’t give up on us. Instead, He provides rest, nourishment, encouragement, assurance of His presence with us, and instructions.

And, sometimes, as I said in the opening story from Max Lucado, God goes to great lengths to get our attention, so that we know He hasn’t given up on us. Sometimes He gets our attention through great demonstrations of His power but, more often than not, He comes to us in a still, small voice, or even in the silence. But, even the silence can be a guarantee of His presence and His faithfulness.

There is a poem by Max Lucado in the same book that the opening story came from that sheds some light on this for us.

Once there was a man who dared God to speak.

Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen.

And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to the sea And waited for God to speak. And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin. He stilled the storm, not of the sea, but of a soul. And God waited for the man to respond. And He waited… And He waited… And waited.

But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; Bricks and not lives, seas and not souls, He decided that God had done nothing. Finally, he looked to God and asked, Have You lost Your power? And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing?