DEVO 1 - THE WAY GOD SPOKE
Elijah was nicknamed “the fiery prophet.”
He had direct communication with God and was a miracle worker that advocated for the things of God when nobody else did. He lived in a time where God’s people had been separated into two kingdoms. There was war, division, worship of idols, and mixed allegiances. God’s people had forgotten about Him. There was a point in Elijah’s life where, after defending the Lord time and time again in exhausting ways, he felt devastatingly alone. Elijah cried out to God because he felt like he was the only one left who truly loved the Lord. He was ready to give up.
In the story, Elijah was running from people who were trying to kill him for his loyalty to God. He had no food and nobody to be with him. He felt discouraged in every sense of the word. Elijah came to a cave and hid in it – hopelessly. At the end of his rope. Elijah cried out to God and said, “I have been very (jealous) for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant ... I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away.” (1 Kings 19: 10)
All the sudden, in a whirl of events, a massive windstorm blows by Elijah. Rocks break off the mountain above and pieces fall from the sky. I could imagine Elijah hanging on for dear life – ducking and trying to survive. The winds died down after a while, and then the earth began to tremble as a massive earthquake broke out. The shaking and cracking were probably so loud in that cave. Elijah stood there, witnessing these crazy natural disasters back-to-back right where he was and probably very scared. Once he thought it all had ended, a flame caught, and a massive fire erupted all around him. Heat and flames and a loud roar. Could you imagine being Elijah at that moment?
“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke into 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 the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him ...” (1 Kings 19: 11-13)
Elijah was hoping for the booming voice of God to answer his cry and comfort Him. But God did not meet Elijah in the ways he thought He would. He spoke softly, through a whisper.
Sometimes we do this same thing. We want a big, loud, message from God full of emotion and clear direction and unwavering sureness. But He often speaks through a whisper. A still, small voice. A sense of peace.
The whole way God spoke to Elijah is a keyhole into how we hear from Him. Hearing the Lord’s voice is a matter of closeness to Him. Closeness to the source. We can’t hear a whisper from across a football field. We need to get close. Whispers are audible when we lean towards the person speaking, with our ears opened to what they have to say. The story of Elijah and the way that God spoke to Him is really all about maintaining a relationship with Him. Maintaining closeness with Him.
As we spend this weekend at STS Conference, we are asking you to lean in close to God and be open to what He might speak to you.
Ways to keep close to God to hear His whisper:
Spending time in prayer.
Spending time in His Word.
Spending time worshiping Him for who He is.
DEVO 2 - THE WHAT GOD SPOKE
God comforted Elijah with a whisper and demonstrated His closeness to Him.
The specifics of what God said were directing Elijah about where he should go next and what he should do next. God told Elijah to “return to the wilderness of Damascus,” and to “anoint Elisha as the next prophet.” God started His message to Elijah with the word, “Go.”
The Lord had a plan for Elijah to take steps forward in his ministry after God had guided him on what to do. God was asking that Elijah then obey.
The specific directions for Elijah’s life are not necessarily relatable for us today, but God’s general directions for our lives are. The Lord wants to communicate with us, and He wants to give us guidance. He always has and always will.
The story of Elijah is a clear picture that God will meet us and tell us what we need to do. The Bible is the most common and foolproof way that God speaks directions to us, but sometimes He will also speak through other people, prayer time, or dreams. It is important to look in the Bible to what God has already called us towards, so that we can take steps forward in ministry like Elijah did.
1. God has called us to Salvation.
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
By believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He came to earth to save us from death and our sin to bring us into right relationship to God, we are saved. When we make that decision to give our life to Jesus and follow Him, everything changes. Our habits, our perspective, our attitude, our goals and our choices. God wants, more than anything, for His people to be in right relationship with Him through salvation.
If you have not yet proclaimed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this is what God is calling you to take as your next step.
2. God has called us to Submission.
Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, our lives become His to use for His glory. We belong to Him and give Him our everything.
“Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.” (Romans 7:4)
The voice of God calls all followers of Jesus to submit our lives unto Him - not just to impact the local church, but to impact the world.
The word “submission” in the Bible means to voluntarily offer up one’s will and desires for a higher purpose, in this case, the purpose of glorifying God. Practically, this means that our lives are no longer ours to hold onto and control but an offering unto God to do with us what He wills. It means that Christians should dedicate their entire lives to God, not just specific actions, as an act of worship. It is a concept that reflects humility and honor to our Savior.
Practical steps for salvation:
Pray, committing yourself to God and His purposes and proclaiming your
belief in Jesus Christ, His son.
Tell a mentor, parent or church leader, and celebrate with them!
Get involved in a church to surround yourself with a like-minded community.
Practical steps for submission:
Pray about what areas of your life you could surrender to God.
Take steps to dive deeper into your relationship with the Lord by studying
Scripture.
Answer the call to share the Gospel with other people who do not yet know
the Lord.
DEVO 3 - THE WHY GOD SPOKE
When God spoke to Elijah in the whisper and in the natural disasters, He was comforting him in his isolation and reminding Elijah that He was with him. Also, and maybe even more importantly, God was looking for a response from Elijah.
I’m sure that moment for Elijah felt overwhelming, scary, and comforting all at the same time. Standing in a whirlwind of thunder, storm, wind, earthquake and fire ... then hearing a whisper close and personal, only to him immediately after ... that had to be a life-altering interaction for Elijah.
“And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” (1 Kings 19:13)
Elijah wrapping his face in his cloak was a sign of reverence and humility. This act was meant to demonstrate the fact that no human being could see God’s face directly and live because of how holy and awesome He was and is. Elijah’s response displayed an overwhelming understanding of God’s majesty and power. He had to cover his face
because he felt undeserving to see Him up close. Elijah’s response showed that he genuinely feared and honored God as Almighty.
After Elijah went to the entrance of the cave, he and God spoke to one another. “... and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” (1 Kings 19:14)
Elijah feared what the future might hold. God asked Elijah to “go” anyway and to trust God with his life. Following the Lord and trusting Him is not always the easy thing to do, but that should always be our response back to Him.
Our response back to God’s call is also a Heavenly Sound. He loves to hear from us. He loves when we obey Him. He loves to see us set on mission for Him. Our response is almost just as important as what He spoke to us in the first place.
Heavenly sounds that we can have in response to God’s call in our life:
1. Worship
Think about Elijah, when he wrapped his face in his cloak after hearing God’s
call. We can have this same response – bowing down and worshipping God for how amazing He is. This can look like actual worship through song or through prayers of adoration.
2. Prayer
Think about Elijah, when he came out to the entrance of the cave to have a dialogue with God. We can have this same response – communicating with our Heavenly Father. When He calls us, He is looking for us to respond back to Him in our prayers.
3. Obedience
Think about Elijah, when he heard what God wanted him to do and immediately did it. We can have this same response – obeying God. He has written to us commands in the Bible, and it is the purest form of love back to the Lord to follow through with them.