The Bible tells us God is always with believers.  He lives in us by His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) and we live in Him (Acts 17:28).

He is our secret place, our shadow (Psalm 91:1-2), our Rock (Psalm 18:2, 1 Corinthians 10:4). All of this is true, 24/7, 365.  But, how often do we consider this?

Our expectations of how God will communicate with us are often not the way He chooses.

Elijah discovered this in 1 Kings 19. How God spoke to him was not what he was expecting. After a threatening confrontation with Jezebel, it says,

9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 So, he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. ….  ‘A still small voice’ means God whispered to him.

FYI, for those of you who may not know this story, God went on to give Elijah specific instructions. Plus, He also told him in verse 18,

“I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” Only God knows the full story.

Lately, God’s been whispering to me. Is it because I am asking Him more questions?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that when He whispers, He reveals more about Himself, and it meets a need right where I am in that moment.  It’s made me question how He knows so much.  Has He wiretapped my mind, my conversations, even when I may not be directing either of them to Him?  My friend, Bob, calls Him, “Jehovah Sneaky.”  

Well, I’ve talked about what I am going to share with Abba. While we are all unique and face varied circumstances, our needs are more similar than we realize.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving to church, and was singing praises to Jesus as I gazed with wonder at the blazing fall colors on the trees.  Some of them stood as huge, flaming torches growing alongside striking bushy evergreens.  But there were others emptying their colorful clothing to dance in the wind and blanket the roadway and fields.

When I paused to thank God for this grand feast of beauty and for eyes to see it, He whispered this thought:

“The trees are surrendering their most beautiful garments. They will stand naked through the cold winter months, trusting Me to redress them in the Spring. But what you don’t see is that their roots will go deeper and wider in search of a water supply to keep them alive. In the Spring, they will be stronger, more able to stand in the storms because of this season of surrender and trust.  Selah.” (Stop and consider this.)

This was a huge revelation of how God works ALL things together for good, not just for the trees but for us.   The things we pray for and trust God for, He meets with provision. But it is often through a season of praying and waiting, and rarely in a way we expect.

Later that week, I stumbled on a video of Steffany Gretzinger speaking at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.  In her talk, which was full of treasure, she said this:

“All Jesus wants from us is Everything.”  

He wants us to let go of EVERYTHING and let Him work all things together for good.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Is God whispering to your heart?  I encourage you to talk with Him about it.  Consider it from all angles. Choose to let go of your need to control, or fix, or figure it out; Let Him surprise you with His love.

I’d love to hear how He whispers to you.  We will likely all benefit.

Shalom ♥

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