Elijah had given his whole life into the service of the Lord. He had stood for righteousness in a time of great darkness. Yet no matter his efforts, the tide of disbelief, wickedness, and unfaithfulness rose up like a wave within the people of Israel, crashing down upon him in fury.
On a mountain, after a mighty firestorm, on a gentle breath of wind, Elijah caught a faint whisper. It was God, speaking with a still small voice. Elijah understood; God wanted him to rest. He had been running, wrestling with issues far beyond his control; he had lost perspective, lost hope. In the midst of that senselessness, God wanted to give Elijah the peace that a gentle whisper of assurance brings.
Just like Elijah, we can become so caught up in the difficulties of our lives that we lose perspective and begin to burn out. In those moments, we may feel like nothing can possibly get better. We are tempted to ask why God won’t help us fix things, why he won’t put everything in order for us. It is exactly in those moments that God wants us to be still, not to try to find his will in the storms all around, but instead to rest in his peace. Sometimes in the midst of crisis we need to take a moment to pause and let the Lord minister to us. Sometimes the most godly thing to do is to fight the good fight; at other times the most godly thing to do is to sleep, to receive nourishment through food and drink, and to wait on the Lord instead of struggling to find answers on our own. Let the Lord who is the king over all storms put his peace in your heart today.
Sally Clarkson is the author of numerous books. Her son Joel Clarkson is a composer and editor. Adapted from A Different Kind of Hero, the companion study guide to Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid Who and a Mom Who Loved Him (both Tyndale Momentum). © 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
