Savoring The Silence

When we think of people who have had a close relationship with God—so much so that they were able to go straight to Heaven without even dying—two names come to mind: Enoch and Elijah.

Enoch lived in a corrupt age. But he didn’t let himself be polluted by his surroundings; he "walked with God" (Genesis 5:22). This wasn't in some kind of glassy-eyed daze, but in everyday life. His relationship with God grew through quiet hours spent in prayer. Like Jesus while on earth, Enoch invested quality time alone with God to be strong enough to resist temptation—and equipped enough to make a positive impact whenever he went out to face the world. His was a straight message with a prophecy foreseeing an event thousands of years ahead of his time—the second coming of Christ (Jude 14, 15). What an honor!

Now, what about Elijah? Here's another example of an amazing man of God. We’ve heard of how rain stopped, fire came down from Heaven, and rain came back all through the prayers of Elijah. But how did the Creator speak to this prophet? Was it always with a strong wind, earthquake, or fire? No, in 1 Kings 19:12, 13 we learn that God spoke to His child in "a still, small voice."

It's natural to expect that an awesome God would always speak in mighty, thunderous, dramatic, earth-shattering ways. But it's ignorant to assume that our all-powerful Creator limits Himself to such methods.

God often speaks in a still, small voice today. Often we need to hush out all other voices in order to hear it in silence. Why? Because other noise can interfere with our ability to know when God is speaking to us. Nearly everything seems to be clamoring for our attention to distract us. God loves us and wants to speak to us. He is a Gentleman in His approach; He is not pushy. He doesn't pound us over the head with a Bible—He invites us to read it for ourselves and attend consecrated worship services to hear it spoken. Then, as a result of what we learn, He speaks to our conscience. "Conscience is the voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions" (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 120).

So let's treasure the quiet moments that make it easier for us to hear God speaking through His word—and then notice how He applies it to daily life through our conscience. Then we may truly discover that silence is golden—and will appreciate the still, small voice that we'll finally be able to hear.