Turn Off the Radio - 2

Intro:
Do you like the pace we run at? Do you ever wish for a place where you can be still and unbothered? We get so distracted by busyness that we can miss the voice of God. There is such a need for quiet places were we can slow down.

Consider the words from a friend’s song, “Slow Me Down”:

First thoughts in the morning as I’m waking up
“I’ve got a lot to do in just one day”
First step out the door and I'm all fouled up
I haven’t taken time to stop and pray

Slow me down
I need to know that You are in control
Slow me down
I want your peace deep within my soul

Rushing to the next appointment on my list
I miss a lot of You along the way
Worried and frustrated about the plans I’ve missed
Time keeps running faster everyday

Slow me down
I need to know that You are in control
Slow me down
I want your peace deep within my soul

Coming home exhausted and I’m all wound up
I’m glad I’ve gotten through another day
Finally lay down and pull the covers up
But I’m having trouble hearing what You say

Slow me down
I need to know that You are in control
Slow me down
I want your peace deep within my soul

Those are good words. Maybe if you come by sometime I will play it for you.

Read: 1 Kings 19:8-13
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.


The LORD Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Think:
Elijah is running for his life. His archenemy has announced his doom and he feels the pressure. So, he is running. Do you feel any pressure from work, home, neighborhood, church, friends? Does the pressure of life make you slow down or speed up?

Elijah is confronted by God for his lack of faith. Maybe if he had taken time to slow down and listen he might have found the strength to stand the pressure.

Notice how God finally confronts Elijah ….. with a whisper (v.12). A “still small voice”. Hmmmm, that’s going to be hard to hear if I am running a fast, noisy pace! Bring on the mountain tearing winds (v.11) and thunderous earthquakes (v.11) and roaring fires (v.12) …. we like that stuff. We get that. Feels like the movies we watch on the weekends! But still small voices we do not have time for. Too much to do. Too much pressure. Too much noise. Too much time.

Do:
Are you aware that God is a person that wants know you? How do you get to know someone? Slow down, listen, time to get to know them. Will you slow down today? Have you quietly surrendered your pressures to God yet?

Will you take our challenge to turn off the radio this week? Let’s try to slow down and see if we don’t run into a God that wants us to know Him.

Have a God-revealing week.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.