Be Still

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Read: 1Kings 19:1-21, Acts 12:1-23, Psalm 136:1-26, Proverbs 17:14-15

Relate: The name “El” is used in the Bible as a generic word similar to “god” in English. Sometimes it refers to the one true God, other times for other gods. Long before this more generic use, however, El was the name of the high god of Canaanite religion. According to Canaanite mythology he had three sons and it was these three sons who were the idols most often worshiped by unfaithful Israelites in Elijah’s time. The oldest of these sons is Baal-Hadad. It is the prophets of this Baal that Elijah had a confrontation with in yesterday’s reading. The second son was Yam. Yam was the god of the sea and the god of chaos. The third son, Mot, is the god of death. He makes an appearance in the Bible twice. The first of these consuming children and youth (Jeremiah 9:21) and the second time Mot swallows peoples and nations (Habakkuk 2:5) The first of these references is especially significant because the Ammonite equivalent to Mot, is frequently referred to in the Bible with the vile practice of child sacrifice by fire (abortion via religion).

Elijah is on the mountainside knowing the Lord is passing by. The storm of winds comes but Elijah recognizes that Baal is not god. The chaos of the earthquake comes, but Elijah recognizes that Yam is not god. The fire of death rages by, but Elijah recognizes that Mot or Molech is not god. Then in the stillness… God. When God shows up, it is not in the way anyone used to the local gods of that time would expect.

React: Life can be full of storms. It is easy to get caught up in the chaos of the day to day hustle. I can become consumed by habits, and addictions… by sin that brings only death. But God is not in that.

We live in a world full of noise. In my early days gave way to discmans which in turn gave way to Ipads. These are now just a function among many on our “smart”phones. I didn’t have even the most basic of cell phones until nearly a year after graduating college and now I can rarely be found without two. The first I call my “American” phone. I keep all my music and books on it. The second, my “Turkish” phone I use for social media, GPS, and of course texting or calling. Having both drains the batteries at half the normal speed. Going unplugged does not seem possible in our generation… yet it is necessary. If we are to hear His still small voice we need to learn to be still.

Respond:

Father, help me to be still. With so much chaos and confusion, storms and noise, help me to find a moment, a time, a place today and tomorrow and the day after to unplug from the distractions of this world. Speak to me in that still small voice and train my ear to hear and my heart to respond. I want to be so attuned to Your voice that no storm can drown it out.

17 thoughts on “Be Still”

Reblogged this on ANDREYYTESBLOG and commented:
React: Life can be full of storms. It is easy to get caught up in the chaos of the day to day hustle. I can become consumed by habits, and addictions… by sin that brings only death. But God is not in that.

Just this past Sunday, our pastor was reading this passage. In my notes I wrote the same thing…that God comes as a still, small voice. Thankful that Elijah listened and heard, and for the reminder to filter out the noise around us in order to tune in to God and His directions in our lives. Thanks for sharing!

Awesome post, BJ. Life can be full of storms. I’ve been going through one recently over the course of several months, and it’s SO good to know that the Lord never leaves us in the midst of these storms. We may leave Him at times, but He never leaves us! PSALM 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” 🙂 We love you, Lord Jesus!

Beejai says:

June 19, 2015 at 11:47 AM

Thank you

Reply
- forestmtnhike says:
  
  June 19, 2015 at 11:51 AM
  
  Awww…I thank you. 🙂
  
  Reply

Reblogged this on forestmtnhike and commented:
This is an Awesome post from, BJ at THE RIVER WALK. I love the title of this post, but especially it’s message. PSALM 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” Thanks for sharing this BJ. I always enjoy your portion, your supply of this GREAT and AWESOME CHRIST!

Elijah My favourite prophet of all times! I imagine him standing before that cave, still and aware of a divine presence. Thanks for reminding me!

great post 🙂

Reblogged this on BraiNchilD and commented:
Thank you for this, it means a lot. one way to describe this world is “motion”, where we have unprecedented activities and every one is rushing. How important if we will be still and know that He is God.

God bless your soul for this. I took the prayer at the end at heart. We direly need God’s grace to be still and hear His still calm voice at such a time where everything is in a whirlwind. The image of two phones and drained batteries is just too real for me. Sometimes I’d say I hold my phones more than the bible, so I’ve tried to get round it by installing the Bible in my phone. Most importantly, I want to install the Bible in my heart, so that wherever I am when the winds are raging, I’ll be able to hear which is the Lord’s still calm voice calling out to me.

Shalom,

Sally.