WHEN THINGS GET ROUGH– or even when everything is going along fine—can we really hear what God is communicating to us, as did the ancient prophet Elijah when he heard the "still small voice" on Mount Horeb (I Kings 19:12)? Yes! In Hebrew, the still, small voice is literally translated "a sound of a gentle stillness" (The Interpreter's Bible, I Kings, Vol. 3, p. 163). The Psalmist hinted at how to hear that stillness when he wrote, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10). And Elijah's example shows us that the still, small voice of divine Truth can come in the wake of a storm, a mental battle, or at any time we need divine direction.
Elijah had challenged 450 false prophets of Baal to call on Baal to start a fire under a sacrificial bullock, to give practical proof of Baal's power. When those prophets were not successful, Elijah dowsed the wood with water, called on God to engulf the pit with fire, and it immediately went up in flames, proving conclusively that God was the only true God who answers prayer. The false prophets were then killed. King Ahab, who heard about this incident, told his wife, Jezebel, a devoted worshipper of Baal, and in her fury she threatened to kill Elijah.
Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time." When Elijah heard of Jezebel's threat, he ran for his life. He was hiding in a cave when God asked him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" (I Kings 19:2, 9). God's question summed up how unbelievable the situation was. After all, God had just proved He was the only power, yet Elijah—on hearing Jezebel's threat—panicked and hid in fear. Elijah's reply revealed the depth of his fear and discouragement. He said, in effect, Lord, I have been very zealous for you, and now I'm in danger of being killed because I'm the only one standing up for you (see I Kings 19:14). That thought—"I'm the only one"—whether it came to an ancient prophet or comes to us today, attempts to crowd out the reality that God is always present. Although most of us have experienced feeling alone or in the depths of despair, we are never really alone, never the "only one."
