“…And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12).

After Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, God patiently worked with the prophet to bring him out of his despondency. In doing so, the Lord passed by the mount, and suddenly a mighty wind swept across the ridges. It roared through the canyons and tore at the mountain, breaking rocks into pieces, “but the Lord was not in the wind.” Then a powerful earthquake violently shook the entire mountain as Elijah sat in one of its caves (vv. 9,13), “but the Lord was not in the earthquake.” This was followed by a sheet of fire passing before the mount as Elijah saw and felt its great heat and power, “but the Lord was not in the fire.”

When the wind stopped blowing, when the earth stopped trembling, and when the fire disappeared, there was stillness on the mountain. In the intensity of that silence came “a still small voice.” And God was in that voice. God’s power was revealed in His Word. As we learn about Him through the pages of His Holy Word, the Lord speaks to us with a gentle and quiet voice. This is where God’s power is revealed to us. God’s still, small voice brings His mighty Word to the listening ears and hearts of those who spend time in it.

God was showing Elijah that His presence and power aren’t revealed in the manner we usually think, or in the things we expect, in what’s impressive and dramatic. We often think of God working in the spectacular, colossal, extraordinary, bright, loud, ground-shaking things. But often, He’s not in those things. Almighty God does His work quietly, often imperceptibly, like a soft whisper. God most often works in tones of gentle love and quiet persuasion. Some of God’s greatest miracles are not in the big demonstrations of power and might but in the humble, little, quiet, everyday things of life, in small daily miracles such as the day-to-day miracle of your spiritual growth through His Word.

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