"And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.." I Kings 19:11-12
Pop culture has produced shows and movies with titles like, "The Horse Whisperer," and "The Dog Whisperer." These feature people who seem to have an affinity for being able to connect on some level with these animals, to form some kind of bond. It makes me think of the One who is the Creator of all things, most especially we humans, and our very human hearts. He is the Heart Whisperer, but I wonder how many of us truly know or hear Him?
Perhaps, more than ever in our culture, we are in love with the spectacular. People are not much interested in listening to or watching programs or movies that contain substance. We crave action, movement, excitement. Disaster movies, superhero flicks....earthquakes, tornadoes....noise, this is what our eyes and ears are attuned to these days. Small wonder that it has infiltrated the very heart of the Church as well.
Think on that. I recently read a quote posted by a brother who has led worship for over 30 years that made the point that much of what we call worship in the Church today is little more than a tightly crafted performance, targeted not at our hearts, but our emotions and senses.This is nothing new. When I started out in ministry in those long ago days in Lubbock, Texas, all one need to do for an attendance boost was give notice that you'd have a gospel group that Sunday and people would come out. They loved the show. In most places, that would not do today, so too often our response has been to offer a bigger and better show.
Believe it or not, this is not a tirade against worship style, gospel groups or music. It's about what our hearts are most attuned to. We live in a culture that has a seemingly unending amount of competing noises vying for our attention. From our waking moments until we go to sleep, our senses are bombarded with varying types of noise. Rarely is He in any of it, yet we have become so used to it, that we don't seem to know how to get by without it. We know how to hear many kinds of "voices," but what do we really know of His? When the Heart Whisperer comes to us, do we hear Him? When the One who knows our hearts more completely than anyone else ever could, speaks in the midst of all that noise, can we hear Him? In the assault upon our physical senses, can our heart and spirit hear His heart and Spirit in it all? Do we know the Heart Whisperer.
In Elijah's experience at the cave in I Kings 19, the Lord was passing by. There were mighty things happening at that time, but He was in none of it. Elijah could discern that, and because he could discern it, he was able to hear the Heart Whisperer. Do we have such discernment? Can we hear the whisper of the voice of the One who passes by our hearts and lives continuously? Above the noise, do we hear Him?
Be assured that the enemy of our souls will send an endless array of "earthquakes, tornadoes, and wildfire," to distract us from Him, but in the midst of it all, will be the still, small voice of the Heart Whisperer. He will be speaking life in every form to us with that voice. Only those whose hearts are attuned to Him will hear it. Do you and I have such a heart? Do we know the sound of the noise, but miss the voice of He who whispers yet speaks words mightier and greater than the most powerful earthquake or storm? He's the Heart Whisperer. Do we know Him? Can we hear Him?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Pastor O
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