Does God Whisper—can You Hear Him?

We see Elijah here. God breathes out the name; it does not say that He breathes out Elijah’s name, but He calls Elijah as though with a sigh. Let’s read this. First Kings, chapter 19, beginning with verse 4, to read a little of the account so you can see where we are going.

Verse 4 says: “... And he, Elijah, went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and wishing that he might die, he said”—and we understand why he wished to die. Elijah’s life had been put in danger, because after he cut off the heads of all Queen Jezebel’s prophets of Baal, she had a most-wanted notice out for him; Elijah’s face was posted like this on every pole in the city: “Wanted.” He was wanted, and there was a bounty, a reward of who knows how many denarii, most likely. And they were looking everywhere for Elijah’s head. Elijah, terrified, took off running and left. Then it says:

“... wishing that he might die, he said, ‘It is enough now, O Lord; take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers’”—referring to Abraham, Moses, referring to all those giants of the faith. “And lying down under the juniper tree, he fell asleep. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’ And he looked, and behold, there at his head was a cake baked over the coals and a jar of water; and he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Arise and eat, because a long journey remains before you.’ So he arose and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

Look, pay attention to all these places it mentions.

“... And there he went into a cave, where he spent the night; and the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword; and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.’ And God said to him, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold”—this is where the interesting part comes—“and behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and powerful wind tore through the mountains and shattered 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...”

Leave it there. I don’t know whether at some point you have asked God to reveal Himself to you in a different, new way. Show of hands: how many of you have asked God to show Himself in your life in a new way? Yes, okay. Look at this; I’m going to tell you about something that happened to me. When was it that the season began when butterflies start emerging from their cocoons? That is around late May or early June, more or less, right? Around then? Look at this: the thing is that around that time I was at home, meditating on the Word and praying, when suddenly I saw one of those orange-and-black butterflies. You know which ones I mean, the most common butterflies around here. That butterfly was floating like this through my garden, and you see it in all its grace and say to yourself, wow, it used to be so ugly when it was that caterpillar, and look at the beauty that has now come out of it.

And I felt like saying, “Lord”—if you want to laugh, I give you permission, because I can’t laugh right now. I went outside and said, “Lord, if You want to do something with me, I want that butterfly to come and land on the table here where I am. Let it land right there on top of the table.” And I watched the butterfly. You can go ahead and laugh. “Omar, what kind of request is that, please—a butterfly sitting at a table with you? Ah.”

Anyway, the thing is that for thirty minutes I watched the butterfly flying. It would come near my table, and I think that when it saw me, it thought I was so ugly that it flew away again and kept fluttering around the garden. Then it would come back toward the table and sort of pretend that it was going to land, but it would fly away again, until I watched it leave. And I said to myself, “Well, Lord, then You have nothing for me.”

The thing is, brothers and sisters, that from June until now, September, I can say that at least 3 or 4 times a week I have seen those butterflies flying around my house, or I have come across them in traffic while I am driving and seen the butterflies flying like this over the car. There was one day when the butterfly almost ended up crushed against my windshield, but thank God, it flew off like this and went away. But the thing is, brothers and sisters, I’m not lying to you: about 3 or 4 times I have seen those butterflies flying near me. And you might say something like, “Oh, Omar, there are so many of those butterflies around here, please.”

But, brothers and sisters, it is a very tiny detail through which I see that God is with me. It is a very small and very peculiar detail through which I see that God answered a request I made in late May or early June.

“If You have a purpose for me, if You want to do something with me, I want that butterfly to be near me.” And over these last few months, on several occasions, I have seen those butterflies flying near me. They may not have landed on the table, but I have seen them flying near me. And it is one way in which I see that God has said to me, “Look, My presence is with you. Even if you think I am not with you, I am with you.”

And look how interesting this is, brothers and sisters, because in this passage that we read, it says that first a wind came by, then an earthquake came, and then a fire came; but afterward the Bible itself emphasizes that the Lord was not there. And it is very interesting because I went and explored this passage even further—particularly that phrase saying that the Lord was not there.

If you look at what Elijah had done in the previous chapter, Elijah had confronted more than four hundred prophets of Baal, and they were having this unusual contest at their altars to see which God would answer first. And there were the prophets of Baal, cutting their bodies, shouting, carrying on, and doing everything they did, but nothing happened. Elijah, however, prepared his altar, and he did it in a very peculiar way too, so that no one thought fire would consume it. Nevertheless, when he called upon God—whoosh!—everything was consumed; even the stones were destroyed. The water and everything that had been placed on the altar evaporated; everything was reduced to ashes before God.

And the power of God enveloped Elijah in such a way that Elijah then had the courage to eliminate all those false prophets. He eliminated them completely. But look at this: after a moment of such glory that he himself had experienced, when the power of God was there and no one could deny that the power of God was moving through Elijah, suddenly, because there was this threat against his life, the man became afraid; he was filled with fear. He took off running. “Let’s get out of here—run for your lives; you’ll have to run across an entire continent. They want to kill me, so I’m leaving.”

And that is what he did, but somehow one thing does not add up with the other. First, here was this man filled with the power of God, whom no one could stand against; and now, because a queen was offering a reward for his head, the man took off running.

And I find that very interesting, brothers and sisters, because many times, with the revelation of God, you have those moments of glory, but then other moments come, as though your life takes a downturn.

It is like an email I received with a video comparing a Friday with a Monday. In this video, when they show what Friday is like, they show a penguin with some really lively music, jumping around—ta na na nan—as though saying, “It’s Friday; let’s celebrate.” And then they show a polar bear on Monday, dragging its whole body through the snow, as though saying, “Oh, it’s Monday; I have to go back again,” until it ends up sprawled on the ground. And you know what? Many times we leave here on Sundays and we are like that penguin, hopping and jumping: “Wow, wow, God is great!” And then Monday comes, and many times we look like a polar bear, dragging ourselves across the floor. It is as though everything we had received on Sunday vanished in one blow.

And I recognize, brothers and sisters, that in those moments there is something God wants to let us know. I believe that in those moments when we think there is nothing, when we are not hearing anything from God, when we are not receiving anything from God, I believe that it is in those very moments that God most... wants to give us something.

Look how interesting this is, brothers and sisters, because those three things—the wind, the earthquake, and the fire—were something I found very interesting. Where was Elijah? What was the mountain called? Horeb. Do you know what other mountain is also known as Horeb? Sinai. To whom did God also reveal Himself on Mount Sinai? To Moses. And when God revealed Himself to Moses—when He descended in the cloud, began giving him the 10 Commandments, spoke to him, and showed him how to lead the people out of Egypt—part of Moses’ revelation involved God using that kind of revelation as well. There was a display of a fierce, strong wind; there were earthquakes that shook the ground where he stood; and there was also the manifestation of fire, when the fire accompanied the people and guided them at all times.

And so here we see Elijah on Mount Horeb, on the mountain of God. He is a great prophet of God, and God is using him to move the people of Israel as well, to lead the people of Israel in a certain direction. Nevertheless, he is there, and God lets him know, “Look, I also revealed Myself to your fathers in this way. I revealed Myself to Moses in this way, in this very place. There was wind, there was an earthquake, there was fire, there were great manifestations from Me because I wanted them to see that side of My power.”

Nevertheless, suddenly there came a still, small voice. It is very interesting because one Hebrew translation says that it was a moment of silence; there was a moment of silence. Imagine a whisper in that moment of silence. You see this man inside that cave, and he hears a whisper. Elijah thinks, “What?” And that whisper comes again and makes itself felt once more, and it captured Elijah’s attention in such a way that Elijah had to come out of the cave and pay attention to what was happening. Because he was seeing a new revelation from God for his life. There was a new revelation from God for him, letting him know, “Look, all these great things I have shown you in the past—yes, I was present in those things.” And I believe that when they were happening, God was there too. When the Word says that the Lord was not there, I understand it to mean that God’s revelation for Elijah’s life at that moment was not present there at that time, until that gentle whisper came; and then God manifested Himself to Elijah in an entirely new way and let him know what was going to happen.

You see, in the verses afterward He tells him, “Go and anoint the king of Syria; go and anoint the king of Judah; and then go and choose someone who will replace you—Elisha.”

In other words, God was letting Elijah know, “Elijah, I have everything under control. Don’t worry; go back the way you came, because I have everything under control. I have Judah under control, I have Syria under control, and I also have the one who will replace you under control. I am God; you are not. I am God. Trust in Me.”

And you know what, my brothers and sisters? I believe we need that kind of affirmation. Many times in our lives, when we become overwhelmed by the things surrounding us day after day, we cannot see or understand the manifestation of God in our midst.

Which of you is going to look at a butterfly on the road while you are driving? Which of you is going to notice a butterfly through your kitchen window while you are washing the dishes and a butterfly passes by the window? Which of you is going to pay attention to that? Some of you might; some of you might not. But even if you see the butterfly, you will say, “Oh, look how pretty—a butterfly flying around.” Who would then think that this is a way God can let us know, “I am in control; I am in control of your life”?

“If you will only learn to trust in Me, I am in control.” And, brothers and sisters, we need to plant ourselves firmly in that truth, day after day, night after night. You know what? I often wonder, and I ask each one of you this question today: What if we only knew—if we only knew—in whom we have placed our trust? If we could only catch a glimpse of God’s power in the midst of our lives, I am sure that none of us would be the same. None of us would be the same.

There are times when we settle for knowing the little we have known about God up to now, but we do not intentionally move forward to go beyond it, to know more, brothers and sisters. There is more to God. The Bible itself says that God’s love is wonderful: it is so long that I cannot go beyond it, so high that I cannot go above it, so wide that I cannot get outside it. How great is the love of God.

And many times, because we have known only one little square of that whole dimension, we say, “Well, this is enough. I am content with this.” But no, brothers and sisters. When the Bible itself says that He wants us to attain fullness, the fullness of the knowledge of God, it is because God does not want you to settle for just that little square of the knowledge of Him. God wants you to have the whole cake. We cannot remain in just one corner, brothers and sisters.

And the thing is, I am sure that if I asked each one of you, deep down in your heart you would tell me, “Yes, Omar, I want to know the fullness of God. I want to know more of God.” Everyone, everyone here, 100% of you, would tell me, “Yes, Pastor Omar, I want to know more of God.” So then, what is the problem?

If everyone here wants this, if that desire is within us, then what is the problem? The problem, when I look at Elijah’s example, is that when the burdens of life surround and overwhelm us, they can overpower that desire to know the power of God. And we let ourselves be carried away by the situation, we let ourselves be carried away by the circumstances, and we sink into them, and our eyes remain focused on them, as though we were hypnotized by the situation. And yet God is there, fluttering like a butterfly around us and telling us, “Hey, there is more, there is more. Do not remain trapped there. Do not stay there; there is more for you. You only have to learn to trust Me, obey My Word, and follow Me. You will see, you will see how I will reveal Myself in your life in new dimensions.”

And, brothers and sisters, I encourage you, and I even encourage myself; I am preaching to myself today, brothers and sisters. God—God wants us to attain the full knowledge of Him. God wants us to come to know the fullness of His power in the midst of our lives, brothers and sisters. But that desire must be within us, a desire that nothing and no one can extinguish, that no situation, no circumstance around us can extinguish—that strong desire within us to know the complete fullness of God’s love in the midst of our lives.

And I know it may seem difficult for me to say this, because many times the situations surrounding us are very close to our hearts, very close to our lives. Many times, it is difficult to ignore those things and try to press on in pursuit of this. But do you know what, brothers and sisters? Even in the midst of those circumstances, we can acquire new knowledge from God in the midst of our lives. Even in the midst of those situations, there are experiences that can fill your life and lead you into a completely new dimension. Even in the midst of those situations, brothers and sisters, the angel of the Lord appears with a cake of bread and a glass of water to feed you and tell you, “Get up, because a long journey still lies ahead of you.”

Do you know what, brothers and sisters? That word may seem harsh; it may seem difficult. If I were to tell many of you, “Get up, because a long journey still lies ahead of you,” perhaps you would tell me, “Pastor Omar, after everything I have already been through, are you going to tell me that a long journey still lies ahead of me? After all the life experiences I have had, are you going to tell me that there is still more ahead of me?” And mind you, I am not talking about age. I am talking about life experiences.

Do you know what, brothers and sisters? That word is an affirmation for your life that is seeking to let you know: I am with you. I am not finished with you. I am still in charge of your life. I have not let go of you. I will not let go of you. Until My purpose is completely fulfilled in your life, I will not let go of you. And to me, that is a word of affirmation, brothers and sisters. Whether I see it in a little butterfly fluttering in my garden, or whether I see it in some tremendous way in which God knocks me to the floor and leaves me unconscious for two hours, I am certain that these are ways in which God shows me that His purpose is there, leaving its mark day after day, night after night, in my life and in the life of each one of you.

So, brothers and sisters, I encourage you; this message is really meant to encourage you. In the midst of the circumstances you are going through in life right now, in the midst of your situation, be confident that God is with you, that God is in control, and that God will reveal Himself in your life in new ways, brothers and sisters. Receive that. God will reveal Himself in your life in new ways.

So be watchful, brother; ask Him to give you discernment in your spirit so that you can recognize the ways in which God will reveal Himself to you. And once God reveals Himself in your life, may you know how to respond. Do not be content merely to know, “Oh, wow, God has revealed Himself to me,” and that is it—I keep that revelation to myself and do nothing with it. No, no, no; God’s revelation has a purpose. If God reveals something in your life, it is so that you can do something with that revelation. It is not so that you keep that knowledge and then sit down, cross your legs, and wait for the next one. No, no, no; God reveals Himself in your life for a reason, for something that will benefit your personal life but will also benefit the lives of others around you. And it is your responsibility—it is your responsibility—when you receive that revelation, to do what that revelation demands of you.

Look at Elijah’s revelation. God personally affirmed Elijah’s life. God told him, “I am with you. I am there, taking control.” But Elijah’s revelation also gave him a responsibility toward other people. He had to go and anoint the future king of Syria, he had to go and anoint the future king of Judah, and at the same time he had to go and anoint the future person, Elisha, who would be responsible for carrying on his ministry.

In other words, God’s revelation was not only meant to affirm him personally, but also to be a blessing to others. So, brothers and sisters, I encourage you. I do not know—I see you sitting there with downcast faces. I do not know whether you understand what I am saying.

Well, the Word is profound, my brothers and sisters. I hope that its depth encourages you to press on, that its depth helps us know the depth of God’s love for us and gives us the encouragement we need to press on.

Let us stand, brothers and sisters, and let us pray.