“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:11-12).
Today is Big Wind Day. What is that, you ask?
Well, on April 12, 1934, the highest known surface wind ever measured was recorded by the staff of the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire. The winds reached 231 miles per hour. (For reference, a Category 5 hurricane will have sustained wind speeds of 157 miles per hour or higher.)
How incredible it must have been for the prophet Elijah, hiding in a cave near Mount Horeb, to experience a great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. He felt the ground beneath him tremble and shake from a violent earthquake. He felt the heat of a raging inferno—a fire similar to the scorching flames he had seen fall from heaven and consume an offering, water-soaked wood, and stones alike on a different mountain.
How incredible it must have been to know that those three tremendous displays were announcing the presence of the Lord himself—the one who brought the universe into being with the words “Let there be,” and there was. And yet the Lord was not in the wind nor the earthquake nor the fire. After those tremendous displays of nature—visible, experiential signs of the power and majesty of the almighty God—came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he knew that the Lord was there.
I love that.
Dear Christian, are there times when we’re so focused on looking for incredible and awesome signs of God being present in our lives that we look past the incredible comfort found in how the almighty God actually comes to us? There are for me.
It’s true—we don’t get to see what Elijah saw and experienced all those years ago on Mount Horeb, the tremendous displays of nature. But how God makes his presence known among his people and assures us that he is always with us—we still see, hear, and experience those whispers today.
They don’t look like much. It’s easy to miss them. It’s easy to forget. But those gentle whispers are more powerful, more wonderful than any natural phenomena ever recorded.
Drops of water sprinkled on a forehead with a few words spoken: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Bread broken and wine outpoured with the words “This is my body. This is my blood.” A book disregarded and dismissed by many yet filled with the saving words and unbreakable promises once spoken and now written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we may have life in his name.
Listen to those incredible, gentle whispers, dear Christian, forgiven and loved by God. Live in the joy of those whispered words each day. We don’t deserve to hear them—we know that. But they’re ours because of Jesus.
How incredible that is!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.