Listen to the Whisper

Last week at church I noticed something that really caught my attention. I walked into the sanctuary and after shaking a few hands and talking with a couple of people I took my seat. My wife was still making the rounds and visiting with her senior adult lady friends so I was sitting there by myself for a few minutes.

The church was starting to fill up as other people made their way in and started taking their seats. Of course being a good Baptist church it looks like we have assigned seating since everyone usually sits in the same spot each week. Myself included.

Before church starts there is quite a bit of activity in the sanctuary. People were talking, music was playing, and kids running around and laughing.

In all that I noticed a couple sitting next to each other towards the front of the church. At first they weren’t talking but then the man leaned over a little and whispered something to his wife. Apparently she didn’t hear him so she leaned towards him and he whispered it again. With all the other noise going on she still couldn’t hear what he said so she scooted closer to him and leaned over even closer to listen one more time. To help I noticed the man leaned more towards his wife and whispered to her again. I am not sure what he said, after all he was whispering, but apparently his wife finally did. She nodded and smiled at her husband.

While watching this I had the feeling that is how God talks to us. In a whisper. The bible calls it a “still small voice.”

God has spoken to us in a lot of ways. He has used a burning bush. A donkey. And He has sent angels to give His message. Maybe it’s just me but I haven’t seen any burning bushes, talking donkeys, or been visited by any of God’s angels. Maybe you have.

But I know God still wants to talk to you and me. We just need to listen for His whisper.

The problem with hearing a whisper is that it can get drowned out by all the activity and noise that is in our lives. Just like the woman at church that couldn’t hear her husband because of all the “noise” going on around her. We can’t hear God because of all the noise in our lives. So, we need to either get rid of the noise or lean closer to the whisperer. Maybe both would be good.

So why doesn’t God just yell out his message from the mountain top like He used to? I don’t know. I’m not God. But I do know He desires nothing more than to be close to His people. So when He whispers, He leans closer towards us and whispers into our ear. And when we truly try to listen to Him we lean closer to Him. And if we don’t hear Him the first time we “scoot” over and lean even closer.

And that is where He wants us. Leaning towards Him and listening.

But how does God whisper to us? One way might be like this. Ever read a verse or a story in the bible that you have read or heard several times before but all of a sudden something jumps out that you never thought of before? Happens all the time. I think that is God whispering to us.

We just weren’t leaning close enough before.

So watch for the burning bush or the talking donkey because God might use them to talk to you. But listen for the whisper too. It might be His way of getting us closer to Him.