“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
We are living in desperate times, and most of us have more than likely asked the same question: “Lord, when will this all be over? When will our lives return back to “normalcy”? Unfortunately, the more news we watch the more we sink under the weight of it all, this deadly disease, the Corona virus.
I have to say it is a great burden and not just one or two people, we’re talking cities, states, countries. And in it all I believe people are thinking the same thing, where are You God? Why don’t You do something?
Maybe in all our running, we just, say “Lord, what are You doing here, in this crisis that You want me to hear….see….maybe we just need to sit quietly before Him, and let Him speak directly into our hearts, and respond to Him accordingly.
“Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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)
There is only one place in Scripture where God is said to have spoken in a “still small voice,” and it was to Elijah after his drama filled victory over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40) where Elijah told that Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, had it ought to kill him. As a result, Elijah ran into the wilderness until he collapsed in exhaustion, where God sent an angel with food and water to strengthen him, and told him to rest, eventually sending Elijah to Horeb. While in a cave there, Elijah begins voicing his complaint that all of God’s prophets had been killed by Jezebel and that he was it, he alone had survived, when God instructs him to stand on the mountain in His presence where the Lord sent a mighty wind which broke the rocks in pieces; then He sent an earthquake and a fire, but……. His voice was in none of them. And then, the Lord spoke to Elijah in the still small voice, or “gentle whisper.”
So the point of God speaking in the still small voice was to show Elijah that the work of God isn’t pinned down to just one dramatic revelation or manifestation. Just because God isn’t audibly speaking doesn’t mean He isn’t speaking. In fact, in Zechariah 4:6 it tells us that God’s work is “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” meaning that huge signs and wonders are are not necessary for God to do His work, He is not confined to a just one single way of communicating with His people.
In fact, it is less important how God speaks to us than what we do with what He is saying to us.. Today God speaks most clearly through His Word. The more we read it the more we learn it, the more likely we are going to hear Him speak ‘live-stream’ right into our hearts and be ready to recognize His voice when He speaks, and the more likely we are to obey what we hear.
In a time of crisis in this Corona Virus event, we see so many people searching for something tangible that will bring them hope, and people are finding out the news sources definitely is not the place to go.
Yes, it’s a golden opportunity for churches to reach out to those who are lost, but it’s even more important for we, the church to hear what God is speaking to our lives; this season of crisis. The church needs to return to the Word, and hear from God what instructions, reproof, correction might be needed, that the church can be a beacon of light and hope to all around us.
I believe wholeheartedly that we as a church are not just spectators in this crisis, we are undoubtedly at a place where God wants to speak to us, maybe even shake off the slumber and afterwards bring…..revival, a fresh wind. I know this post is lengthy, but I encourage you to take the time and read these words below and ask God, ‘what are You doing Lord in the middle of this crisis that You want me to see….‘You’re servant is listening….’
“If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God…….. If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land…..
God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will not fulfill it?”
HUMBLE
“He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?…..humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.”
PRAY
“Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known…. when the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles…..the LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the the righteous…”
SEEK
“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!….. ‘I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me….You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart……
TURN
“Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth…. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one….. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…….Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
HEAR
“But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house…..’He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’…..For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart…..Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect…..”
FORGIVENESS
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust…. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…
HEALING
“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise… ‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand’…. ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.’….. He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction…..
BLESSING
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
PEACE
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me….Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid…..In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety……May the Lord give strength to His people! May the Lord bless His people with peace!”
Job 22:23-26- 2 Chronicles 7:14- Numbers 23:19- Micah 6:8- 1 Peter 5:6- Jeremiah 33:3- Psalm 34:17- Proverbs 15:29- 1 Chronicles 16:11- Proverbs 8:17- Jeremiah 29:13- Jeremiah 1:9- Psalm 53:3- Isaiah 1:18- 1 John 1:9-
Ezekiel 3:27- Matthew 11:15- Hebrews 4:12-
Romans 12:2- Psalm 103:10-14- Ephesians 1:7- Jeremiah 17:14- Isaiah 41:10- Jeremiah 33:6-
Psalm 107:20- Psalm 103:2-5- John 14:1,27-
Psalm 4:8- Psalm 29:11
Walking the Berean Road 