Christian Living

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January 12, 2012 – Looking for God in All the Wrong Places

11 And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after [a sound of a gentle stillness and] a still, small voice. – 1 Kings 19:11-12 AMP

Elijah in today’s passage had just ended a two hundred mile journey which took over forty days to complete. Elijah had executed 450 prophets of Baal. Then he fled from the wicked Queen Jezebel after she had made a threat on his life. At the end of this long trip, he had a meeting with God Himself. But he knew exactly where to look for Him.

Are you looking for God in all the wrong places? That’s a different twist on a song I used to hear as a child on the radio. Christians today are looking for God in all the wrong places, but Elijah knew better. Elijah knew that as much as the mountain shook and burned, God wasn’t there.

Christians today have turned their faith into one of looking and chasing after Him. We look for God everywhere. We attend rallies with tens of thousands of fellow believers with expectant hearts. Thousands pour to the altar at the stage crying out to God, making amends for their past sins. We all wait for God to fill the arena with the same rushing wind that filled the first believers with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Many leave these events with changed hearts. And although we draw closer to God at these events, we never felt the rushing wind. We felt a breeze from the north, but it was just an incoming cold front. God wasn’t in the wind.

We also look for God weekly in our churches. Churches with contemporary services have bands that play music very well. These churches have a stage, lighting, and the best acoustics designed by the top architect in the region. All the instruments played are electronically fed through an elaborate mixing board and what we hear sounds better sometimes than concerts we paid hundreds of dollars to attend. These bands very often play longer than the pastor preaches. They are there to draw us closer to God and into his presence. Sometimes it’s so loud that the ground literally shakes. But God isn’t in the earthquake.

There are even times when our churches schedule a revival. These services generally last three to four nights and are intended to energize a congregation like nothing else. Often a visiting evangelist comes from out of town to deliver a fresh message to the flock. Sometimes lives are changed. Sometimes the evangelist leaves town and the congregation has a fire in them growing that lasts for years. Sometimes the fire lasts for only a few days. And sometimes the evangelist leaves the congregation without the slightest spark in their pursuit of God. But that’s okay, because God’s not in the fire.

At the end of Elijah’s long journey, God was nowhere to be found in the wind, earthquake, or fire. He came in a still, small voice in the midst of a gentle stillness. This is where many Christians miss the boat nowadays in their relationship with God. Rallies, revivals, and rock concert style worship are great ways to corporately bring believers together in one voice. They really get us energized and fill us full of emotion. But where’s the personal relationship with God that He so desires from us? God loves seeing believers in one accord. But how much more does He love it when those thousands of believers who have gathered together leave and seek Him individually?

For years I have left church services and heard comments like God really moved today or that was an awesome service. But do you ever hear believers talk about how God moved in their car on the way to work? Have you ever had God move in your life when it was just the two of you? I can honestly say that He has had a more than profound impact on my life in those private times than in any corporate setting.

In those quiet, one-on-one times with God, you can really hear God speaking to you. He is the still small voice. I can’t even hear myself think during worship at church, so how in the world am I going to hear a still small voice? Elijah was alone on the mountain with God. He wasn’t in the middle of a rally with thousands of others, nor was he at a revival service amidst hundreds of believers. He was by himself with the Creator. And Elijah heard Him in the gentle stillness. The NIV even refers God’s voice speaking to Elijah as a gentle whisper.

That’s how you can really hear God. Get quiet. Shut out all the rallies, revivals, and rock music worship. If you want to go to those events, that’s great. Join together with other believers and go. But try this at least once: sit in the parking lot in your car for a while after whatever event you attend starts. Seek God in the stillness. You may find out that you were just looking for Him in all the wrong places.

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