Don't Ignore that Still small Voice

Before I leave the story of Elijah, one more thing caught my attention that I have to comment on.

"And [God told Elijah], Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." 1 Kings 19:11,12

It's pretty exciting when you hear and obey God's still small voice, and it's pretty sad when you don't.

Recently there are several times I heard the quiet voice but did not respond.

• I had prayed I could be with my grandmother when she took her last breath. At 12:30 on April 30th, almost one month ago now, I was working in my office (my mom was with my grandma), when the thought came to my mind, you need to go check on Grandma. I told myself, "I will, in just a few more minutes. I need to finish what I'm working on first." 10 minutes later my mom called me. Grandma had just breathed her last, and if I'd listened to God's quiet voice, I would have been at her side.
• Last week I woke up one morning with the strong impression that I needed to back up my hard drive. It just came to me out of the blue. I told myself, "Yes, I need to do this, but I don't have time now. I will do it as soon as I can." (At that point I had had no problems with my hard drive, as it's still hardly a year old.) That day my hard drive crashed, and so followed 3 very stressful days of agony before God worked a miracle and brought it back!
• Yesterday, I was writing, and out of the blue, I had the thought that I needed to text my friend Kim, and tell her how many speaking slots one of our Colorado speakers has. (She had asked me 2 weeks before, and I hadn't been able to get back to her yet as I was waiting for schedule approval from Pastor Myers and team.) I knew the answer now though, so I picked up the phone to text her the info. Then I told myself, "Ahhh… I don't have to text her now. She's probably at work anyway. I will text her later." And I went back to writing. 5 minutes later, she called me. "Mel, I just got off the phone with such and such speaker and he's asking again for his speaking schedule!" (Argh!!! I could have slapped myself.) "Kim!" I told her in astonishment. "I just picked up the phone to text you this info a few minutes ago, then decided it was ridiculous to send you the info now and I would do it later. If I'd sent you the info when God prompted me to, it would have arrived right when you needed it while you were talking to him!" As it turned out, it wasn't the end of the world, but she had to call him back. 

Some of these experiences are more important than others, and missing the boat in these circumstances is certainly not going to cost me my salvation. (Praise the Lord!) But I think it's interesting the way God does speak to us, and if we'd only listen, we might be better off.

Now let me briefly share about a couple times I listened and responded.

• I felt impressed to send a girl I was working with some funds as I knew she was struggling. Initially, I was only going to send her part of my missionary offering, and give the rest to another cause. However, I felt impressed to send her the full amount. Not long after, she shared with tears, how those funds were the EXACT AMOUNT she had been praying and needing for a specific bill. Since I had followed God's promptings, God had answered her prayer, and He'd used me to do it. (What a great feeling and I just praised the Lord!)
• Another time, I was jogging and passed a nursing home where an older lady (also a friend of mine) was in her final stages of life. At the time, she was already bed ridden. This one day, I felt impressed, in the midst of my jog, to run into the nursing home and see her. I told myself, "Ah, I can see her later, when I'm not so sweaty." However, I finally stopped jogging and went in, telling her my love. Just a few hours the nurses called me. She had died. And that was my final goodbye.
• This past week, my mom, after hearing these recent stories, was convicted that she would be extra careful to follow the promptings of the Lord. She did, one afternoon, even though it meant dropping her dish washing in the middle, and as a result, I believe God will give her another soul in the Kingdom. 

I'm more convicted than ever, to keep my eyes on Him and not ignore or push aside that still small voice. How about you?

Review:

• Bible Thought: We may look for the whirlwind or earthquake, but often God speaks in the still small voice. Don't miss it!
• Blessing: I'm thankful that although we sometimes miss the cues, He does not give up, but keeps speaking!
• Battles: To not get distracted by the enemy's whirlwind, but to keep in tune with God.