1535) It’s funny how I often yearn for peace and quiet, but when it’s actually quiet, I feel little peace.

When it’s quiet, the voices within my head will often start shouting. I read somewhere that we can speak around 200 words a minute, but we can think 1500 words within that same amount of time. For me, my thinking is often filled with accusatory voices concerning everything about me that’s flawed (at least in my mind). These voices are much like some of what Elijah experienced on Mt. Sinai.

Here, Elijah desperately wanted to meet with God after a period when he believed he was all alone and wanted to die. As he approaches God, he experiences a tremendous windstorm, then an earthquake, then a blazing fire. 1 Kings 19:11-12 

These would have defeated me and it’s interesting that when seeking peace, Elijah encounters an exaggerated opposite until…God whispers his name. I have often wondered how Elijah could have heard it after what he experienced.

Sometimes, when we’re seeking peace, we can miss the whisper. That God chooses to speak to our hearts in this manner implies the intimacy he seeks with each of us.

Next time you yearn for peace and quiet, don’t miss the whisper. It’s there among the storms that take place within your heart.