I Am a Pastor: Hearing From God

Many people assume that the pastor has a direct line to God simply by virtue of his/her title. However, the longer I am in vocational ministry, the more I recognize that this is certainly not the case. I mean, while I can certainly recall moments early in my life and career where God’s voice was undeniably clear (e.g., my call to ministry, our call to Des Moines), I have found that, contrary to common sense, God’s voice has actually grown softer over the years so that I must work harder to hear it.

This is not to say that I am drifting from God. On the contrary, I am fairly confident that I am closer to God today than I have ever been in my life. Rather, it is to say that, the closer I get to God, the softer his voice gets. I think there are two reasons for this. First, because I am closer, he has no need to speak more loudly. And second, more importantly, as close I am, he wants to draw me closer still.

For the last few months, I have been pondering something in 1 Kings 19. If you are not familiar with it, this is the morning after the prophet Elijah delivered to God a major victory at Mount Carmel. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah had challenged the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah to a competition to see whose god was really real. Each “team” would prepare an offering and then ask their deity to send the necessary fire. The prophets of Baal, the Canaanite god of harvest, worked all day, calling on their god, dancing, and even cutting themselves until “blood gushed over them” (1 Kings 18:28), but of course, Baal did not answer. Then Elijah, who had watched them (and mocked them) all day long had his offering drenched with twelve large pots full of water. When he called on God, the whole offering was instantly consumed in a bolt of fire from heaven, and the people hunted down the prophets of Baal and Asherah and slaughtered them (1 Kings 18:40).

As a result of this victory, it is tempting to think that Elijah would have a direct, always-open line to God. Indeed, by the end of 1 Kings 19, our hero would be boldly defying the king by appointing a prominent successor, Elisha, but in the opening verses of this chapter, after news of his victory reached the murderous queen, we find Elijah under a broom tree lamenting life.

Then, something extraordinary happens. Instead of God appearing to Elijah to comfort and encourage, an angel touched him and told him to eat and sleep. If these things seem mundane, it is because they are, but the closer we get to God, the more of our major issues we have, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome. We are, then, like a high-performance race car which has already had its engine swapped out and chassis redesigned. Now, improvements are made by reducing millimeters of clearance, buffing out almost imperceptible blemishes, and making the most minute adjustments to the suspension. Yet, these mundane things can make a major difference! For instance, consider what a difference a good night’s rest can make in one’s attitude. And everyone knows that proper nutrition can make a big difference in energy and alertness. Certainly, these things affect the spiritual realm as well! Therefore, in order to hear from God as we continue to grow in grace, we must increasingly attend to the mundane things which affect our ability to hear from God.

After sleeping and eating, Elijah walked forty days and nights straight, without food, before finding himself a nice cave on Mount Horeb. Forty days. And nights. Walking. Considering I could hop on a jet and be anywhere in the world within about 72 hours, I find it hard to fathom walking for forty days and nights. Yet, that was how far Elijah had to go to hear from God. I imagine the reason for this is two-fold. The first is the same reason we take vacations to far-off places: we have already seen and done the stuff that is close at hand. This may seem counterintuitive because God is closer to us now than ever before, but as we grow in grace, we must become increasingly deliberate – not less – about seeking the Lord because deeper intimacy requires more time and commitment rather than less. The second reason Elijah had to go so far is because, as we grow in grace, God increasingly trusts us with extended missions in enemy territory. Like a spy undercover in a hostile land, we may not be able to just pick up the phone and chat with God because the enemy will do everything in his power to block the call. So we must work harder to break through the interference and get a clear line.

Something else strikes me about Elijah’s conversation with God: in verses 9-11, Elijah finally heard from God. Had I been in the prophet’s shoes, however, God’s words would not have been what I expected. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” It may have been a simple question: God cared enough about Elijah to ask what had brought him to a cave on a mountain forty days from home. But I do not think God needed to ask such a question. It may have been a sarcastic accusation: you should really be out there, working. But as I read the passage again, it strikes me that God asked the same question in verse 9 and again in verse 13 after the wind, earthquake, and fire. It is as though God was saying, “Really?” Really, have you been very zealous for me? Really, have the Israelites all abandoned my covenant? Really, are you alone and on your own?

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 10:12: “So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.” Indeed, one of the greatest temptations that we face as we grow closer to the Lord is to think that we can finally handle things ourselves. Such was the case with Elijah. He had decided that it was him and his zeal which had stood against the apostate Israelites, him and his zeal which now stood against the murderous Jezebel. Of course, Elijah had concealed this self-centeredness and self-reliance in a cloak of faith: his faith had grown to the point that God could entrust him with such things and then go on about his own business. Indeed, in verses 10 and 14, the prophet’s response portrays the situation as a conflict between the Israelites and himself rather than the Israelites and God.

Ironically, one of the things that makes it so much harder to hear from God as we grow closer to him is that we, too often, actually begin to think that we can do it all on our own. Moreover, we actually begin to believe that we are doing it all on our own. Initially, this will appear as a statement of faith: God has either entrusted this task to us to take care of, but that will quickly transform into resentment as we begin to think God has dropped the ball and failed to show up. We must be very wary of this attitude because as soon as we start thinking we are doing it on our own, we run the risk of ending up under a broom tree, lamenting life!

But there is one more reason I think I need to work harder to hear from God as I grow in grace. In verse 13, God asked Elijah the same question he had asked in vs 9. In vs 14, Elijah’s response was the same as in vs 10. But in vss 15-18, instead of responding directly to Elijah’s complaint, God delivered new orders to his prophet. Why? Because Elijah was fixated on what was already done. He kept rehashing the same events, the same problems, the same frustrations and fears. He knew that God had provided victory at Mt. Carmel, but he imagine God providing another victory. As long as he continued to do that, he was never going to recover. The new orders, then, gave him something new to focus on.

I am a fan of the television show West Wing. At numerous points through the series, President Josiah Bartlet will announce that he has moved on by demanding, “What’s next?” He explained in one episode that the question was intended to declare that the last thing was done, and it was time to focus again on what was yet to come. The older and more mature in faith I grow, though, the easier it is for me to fixate on the past as the pinnacle of God’s accomplishments in my life. In other words, it is to stop asking what’s next and start declaring, “I’m done.” And the moment I do that is the moment I stop my ears from hearing his voice calling me to new things.

If you are struggling to hear from God, it is time to take inventory of your life. Are there still big things that are askew in your life? It is guaranteed that you will not hear from him unless the major sin issues that you know about are resolved. Are there little things that need to be tweaked? The closer we get to God, the more attentive we must be to the tiny details of faith. Have you grown self-centered, even if it is well-disguised as faithfulness? Stop thinking it all depends on you and God has yet to show up. Are you fixating on past accomplishments rather than looking with faith to the victories yet to come? God will never speak to you if you are already done and checked out.