Gentle Whisper

Sep 5, 2023

When Pastor Jared taught the Go First series last year, one of the five marks of a “Go First Leader” he talked about is emotional health.

I’m so glad he included it, because, oftentimes, it’s easy to pretend on the outside that everything is great while on the inside we are just trying to figure out how to keep it together!

When we think about people in the Bible who went through times of emotional struggle, we automatically think of Job or David. But today, I want to look at the life of Elijah. All we know about him is that he was a prophet of God whose name means “my God is the Lord,” and he came from Tishbeh in Gilead.

1 Kings 16:30 tells us that Ahab was king of Israel and did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him, so that is why God sent Elijah. Ahab and his wife Jezebel led the Israelites into Baal worship. Elijah came to announce that God would send a famine, but Ahab ignored him.

During the famine, God sent ravens to feed him and eventually provided for him along with a widow and her son. Not only that, but God used Elijah to revive the son after he died!

So the famine has been going on for three years and it’s time for a challenge. Let’s pick it up in 1 Kings 18:17-19:

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

- 1 Kings 18:17-19

Basically, Elijah is facing off against the false prophets.

They call upon their god all day long to rain fire from heaven to no avail. Then Elijah builds an altar of stones, digs a ditch around it, puts the sacrifice on the top of wood and asks for water to be poured over his sacrifice three times. Elijah prays and God sends fire down from heaven, burns the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, and licks up the water in the ditch. The Israelites responded by killing the false prophets and tearing down the false idols!

Great news, right?! Except Elijah was discouraged, weary, and afraid. Do you ever feel that way? There have been some great successes, but you’ve fought hard to get your child back on track in school, finally landed a new job, or found a home that meets your needs. But something is “off” and God seems distant.

Friends, this is why I love Elijah. He hid in a cave because Jezebel was threatening to kill him. But God was there! 1 Kings 19:11-13:

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 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.

- 1 Kings 19:11-13

God wasn’t in the wind, earthquake, or fire. He was in the gentle whisper. The gentle whisper. We only hear His whisper when we are still enough to listen, seek help, and work towards emotional health.

Friends, I’ve been there! I’ve been through the depths of depression after my sister was killed.

And it was finally, in the gentle whisper, that God led me to the counselor I needed and the friends surrounding me that I found my way ‘home’!