After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 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



11 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 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?”



“Gentle Whisper”



One of the benefits of knowing God is to be able to see His grand scale. Our God is big. Whoever comes to know Him will see the grander scale of God. But God is not only big but gentle and detailed too. There is a wonderful balance of big and small, power, and love in God. Although God is big, God does not make us megalomania who is obsessed with big and grand things. Knowing God deeper makes us able to appreciate the small and tiny things such as nameless flowers and small birds. Elija was one of the greatest prophets who knew the greatness of God. He had a great vision to restore God’s reign in Israel. He fought hard and accomplished a lot including the great victory at Mountain Carmel. But he was not a man without human frailty. He expected the great victory and a miraculous rain would turn around the king and people from following the false god Baal once and for all. They saw who true God was and what He could do. But it turned out that the great victory and miracles worsened the situation. The queen Isabell adamantly decided to kill Elijah to make even for the killings of the prophets of Baal. She began to chase Elijah harder. Elija became so frustrated. And his frustration turned into skepticism toward God. He knows that God is all-powerful. He demonstrated it at the Mountain Carmel. Then, why did He become suddenly quiet as if He is not interested in this critical spiritual fight anymore? He went to God with the grudge and question. God didn’t rebuke Elijah. Instead, God taught him a gentle lesson. God showed the great and powerful wind that tore the mountain. The wind should be enough to destroy the ungodly nation. But God was not in there. Neither was He in the earthquake that shook the earth nor in the fire that could burn and swallow the ungodly peop[le and nation. Surprisingly He was in the gentle whisper which was barely audible. Did you get the message? What is God saying? He is saying that it is true that I have all the power and authority to destroy the ungodly kingdom and people. But I would rather build and restore them with a gentle voice. Will you understand my heart? When do Do you think Elijah fully understands what God says here? I believe Elijah fully understands it when he met with Jesus at the mount of transfiguration. There, the glorious son of God who had all authority of heaven and earth gives Himself up meekly and gently at the cross to save the nations and people. Oh, what a mystery, what a paradox it is! We are saved by the gentle whisper not by the wind that tore the mountain. How much do we appreciate the gentle voice? Did we stop grumbling like Elijah yet?