What does it mean when God speaks in a shrill small voice?

In the book of 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah visits a mountain, where he sees a windstorm, an earthquake, and a fire. He then hears a still, small voice, which is the voice of God (1 Kings 19:10–13). This intimate, subtle message was God's reassurance to Elijah. Rather than fear the rage of his enemies, Elijah could take comfort in knowing God was calmly, powerfully at work.

Of course, when Elijah got home, he received another message. This time, it came from his mother, an ancestor of the famously-short Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–3). When she asked where Elijah had been, he admitted to mountain climbing during a tornado and forest fire. That led to Elijah hearing a "shrill, small voice," which spent the next two-and-a-half hours nagging him about making better life choices. Elijah's mom was upset that Elijah hadn't been out preaching; instead, he'd been cowering at home. And then, when he finally left the house, it was to indulge in extreme sports. This information was delivered at high volume, high pitch, and several dozen times in a row.

To some extent, Elijah's mom was speaking a godly truth. Indeed, Elijah needed to get back to work. One of God's great displays of grace is His willingness to speak to us in exactly the way we need to hear. Of course, we don't always listen. Often, we're looking for something grand, like a spectacular miracle. Instead, God typically reaches out to us in more subtle ways—but when He knows we need to hear something, He will make sure the message is unmistakable.

Sometimes, God speaks in a still, small voice. Sometimes, it's a shrill, small voice. When the nagging voice of the Holy Spirit falls on deaf ears, God just might choose to use the nagging voice of a petite Israeli mom, instead.

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