1 Kings 19: 11-13 “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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave”

Do you ever have daydreams of the Lord coming down and shutting up the skeptics and the scoffers, the deceivers and perverters of our world with an act of power? What we really need, we think, is for God to rain down brimstone like he brought on Sodom, or plagues like he brought on Egypt. If the Lord would only unveil his power and judgment, then maybe people would start to shape up.

You know the problem with that. God’s mighty judgments don’t really change people. They may finish off the trouble-makers. They may bring some temporary relief to the faithful. But they don’t really change anyone. God does not live in his acts of power in the way that he lives in his message of grace.

No doubt Elijah thought that it was time for the Lord to turn up the heat on the nation of Israel. He had already sent a three-year drought, and that didn’t help. He had sent fire from heaven to burn up a sacrifice, and that didn’t solve the problem. Elijah wanted more. He wanted the nation to hear God thunder and roar, but he was listening for the wrong thing. So God let him experience a rock-shattering wind storm, and an earthquake, and a fire. They were all impressive demonstrations of power. But one thing was missing in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire. The Lord was not in them. And without the Lord, how were they supposed to help?

In this way the Lord was tuning Elijah’s ears, and ours, to hear his voice. He is helping us to hear him speak where he truly speaks: in the gentle whisper of his grace. You know what people in the Bible do when they find themselves in God’s presence? Lift up their hands and start reaching for him? No, they start covering themselves, or they bow down with their faces to the ground. Abraham, Moses, the angels in Isaiah’s vision, the wise men, Peter, and Paul, to name a few. Here Elijah hears the voice of God, and it moves him to pull his cloak over his face.

But it is just a gentle whisper. Think about this for a moment: when do you use a whisper? You whisper when you are trying to keep a secret and you don’t want anyone to hear. But the Lord was not trying to keep his message a secret.

You also whisper when your words have something kind, and tender, and comforting to say. Young lovers whisper their affection in each other’s ears. A young mother uses whispers to calm her crying baby or reassure her frightened toddler. The Lord speaks softly to his people when his message is, “I have loved you with an everlasting love. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

We could go on. We don’t know the exact words Elijah heard in the whisper. But we know the kind of words they were. They were words of grace. They were words that promise, “I am not the kind of God who tolerates or approves of sin. But I am a God who bears with his people because I want to save them, not destroy them. I want to forgive them, not condemn them. I would give up anything for them, even my one and only Son, to rescue them from the hell they have made for themselves.”

That’s the voice that changes people. That’s the voice that changes me. We need to hear that voice we think we are all alone against the world.