Your life is full of event after event, and one thing after another. You no sooner get finished doing one thing, when something else screams for your attention. It does not matter if you have a full-time job or if you are retired. Life keeps you busy from sunrise to sunset. Even the weekends are busy with going from one demand to another.
Finding Phillips Brooks, the noted New England pastor, irritably pacing his study, a friend asked him, “What is the trouble?” “The trouble is,” answered Brooks, “that I’m in a hurry—and God isn’t.” That describes your day-to-day activity with vivid clarity. You are busy doing this thing and that thing. In the midst of it all, you want the Lord God to intervene and give direction or maybe even answer a prayer. And like Brooks, you realize that even though you are in a hurry, God is on a totally slower timetable.
Elijah was a man of God. He walked intimately with the Lord of heaven. Elijah called on the Lord, and He brought fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal looking on. Elijah then slew the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Coming off this spiritual high, Elijah was depressed. The Lord ministered to Elijah: “So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and small wind was rending the mountains and breaking in 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. After the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of a gentle blowing” (I Kings 19:11-12). Reading further reveals that God was in the gentle breeze. So often you do not hear God, because you do not slow down and “listen” for Him to speak to you.
When you are in a hurry and need a voice from God, remember to remove yourself from your fast-paced life and get quiet to listen for His gentle, soft voice.
