Tick Tock

Tick Tock

Scripture
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- 1 Kings 19:9-13
Devotion
When Taylor and I moved into our house it was one of the most exciting times in our lives. We had been dreaming of finally being able to live where we wanted to minister, Dripping Springs, and it took 8 years for God to finally make that a reality. I still remember moving in and it not feeling real.
The next few months were filled with making our house feel more like a home. We had a friend from the church come over and help us decorate (which didn’t take too long because we didn’t have any furniture) and one of the first things we did was the area around the fireplace. We bought a rug, found lots of little personal items to put on our mantel, and hung a great big clock above it.
I hardly recall the first 90 days. Between setting up each room, installing fixtures, and the general chaos of having 3 young children in the house, it wasn’t until one night as I lay on the living room couch in complete silence that I heard something. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock… The clock that we had installed above the fireplace months earlier was making a sound! In fact, it always made a sound, but I was too busy and distracted to hear it.
God whispers to Elijah in this story. In the quiet, Elijah hears the voice of God. After all the commotion and grand displays, God is revealed in a way that could be missed if Elijah wasn’t paying attention.
Our Lord shows up in ways that can be missed. When we crowd our days with activity, overbook our schedules, and bombard our souls with a constant stream of distractions, it’s possible to never hear the tick tock, tick tock of God’s spirit. Maybe it’s time to create some blank space in your days and pray to God that he will fill it? Perhaps you’ve been looking for God in the noise, but he’s been waiting for you in the quiet.

-Pastor Mitch

Discussion Question
  1. What is one block of time that you have during your day that you could commit to seeking Jesus in the quiet unknown instead of how you're using it now?

Prayer
Jesus, slow me down and shut me up. I want to hear your voice, even if it's the faintest whisper in this world. Help me hear you. Amen.