God in the Silence

Scripture

1 Kings 19: 9-13

⁹ At that place [Elijah] came to a cave, and spent the night there.  Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

¹¹ He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking 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; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Devotion

Today's reading from 1 Kings occurs while the prophet Elijah is hiding in the wilderness in order to escape Queen Jezebel's wrath.  Elijah is his wits' end...and for good reason.  He is fearful, anxious, and in great danger of being killed.  But there, in a cave on Mount Horeb, the frightened prophet encounters God himself.  The Divine Presence comes not in the wind.  Nor in the earthquake.  Nor in the fire.  No, God arrives in a moment and sheer silence.

Why does God come in Silence?  Perhaps it is because Elijah's life is so very noisy.  Elijah has jumped from one disastrous situation to another--proclaiming God's word in spite of false prophets who tried to blow him away with their words, officials who rocked his world with punishments, and the fiery wrath of a queen who wanted him dead.  He has held strong throughout all the metaphorical winds, earthquakes, and fires that he has been forced to battle.  But continually fighting all these things have become too much to bear.  

Elijah needs a moment away from the frenetic energy that surrounds him.  A moment to just be still so that he can pour out his heart to the God who has promised to save him from his distress.  When the chaos dies down and the silence arrives, Elijah knows that God is listening.  And it's in that same silence that his troubled soul will be quiet enough to hear the words of comfort and direction that God has to offer him. 

Our world today is so very loud.  Like Elijah, we often face dangers, anxieties, and opinions that clamor for our attention.  As we dash from one potential disaster to the next, it can feel as if there is never time to rest.  Never time to recover.  Never time to even breathe--much less ask God for the help we so desperately need.

It is in times like this that we too could benefit from a moment of silence so that we can have an honest conversation with God.  Silence  is not something that many of us are comfortable with...but it is something we need.  For our prayer today, I invite you to take time to participate in the exercise below.  May this exercise help you find God in the silence so that you may receive the comfort and assurance we seek. 

Prayer 

Take yourself to a quiet area where you can have some privacy.  You may want to light a candle or do something else to set a calming mood.  Do NOT turn on any music.  Place your body in comfortable position and soften your gaze.  Slowly breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth three times.  Then, allow your mind to slowly ponder the following questions, lifting each one up to God in turn:

• What ill winds or unkind words threaten to knock me down?
• What  seems to shake the once-stable ground beneath my feet?
• What fires threaten to consume me? 

 Now, let go of each of those things and quiet your mind.  Sit in silence for at least 3 minutes so that the God who knows all that you are going through may speak to your heart.

End with the Lord's Prayer:

 
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.