Today's first reading is one of my favorites in all of the Old Testament because it very clearly speaks to us about who God is and how He works. In this reading, we encounter Elijah who is in the midst of a very difficult time. In this difficulty, Elijah goes looking for the Lord and is looking for God to speak in a big, booming voice. When Elijah finally finds God, though, as we heard, God is not in the heavy wind, the earthquake, or the fire; God is only found by Elijah in the tiny, whispering wind.

It almost feels as I've been praying through this reading like there is nothing much more to say. The lesson is simple: God is speaking. Too often, we don't hear God because we're listening for Him to move mountains and speak in a big, booming voice, and we're not quiet enough, not still enough, and not listening hard enough to hear Him in the way He wants to speak.

At the end of the day, we have a God who is constantly speaking to our hearts. He speaks in the silence, in the tenderness and the love that only He knows. When we're tired, hurting, desperate, happy, angry, sad, excited, and everything in between, our God is a God who is speaking. Our God is not a God who is silent and leave us, He is a God who is active and working in our lives. We need to learn, each and every day, by taking time to be silent and pray, that God is speaking and that He can be heard if we learn to find Him in the silence.

Today, this week, this month, and the rest of your life: take time to be quiet. You'll be surprised how clear God's voice comes when you learn to hear Him in the whispering wind.

Do I listen for God in the quiet or do I just get frustrated when He isn't speaking loudly?

Do I give time to God to speak in the silence of my life?

Can I silence the things and voices in my life long enough to listen to God begin to speak in the quiet?

"Here I am Lord."

"I love you Lord."

"I trust you in the quiet."

Spend some time in the quiet today. Set a timer on your phone for 5 or 10 or 15 minutes, then put your phone in airplane mode, turn off the ringer, close the door to your room, and sit in the quiet. When distracting thoughts come, give those to the Lord. Listen to the ways He's speaking to you in the quiet of your life.