The Whisper That Leads

Sep 2 2025 - Eric Buresh

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” —1 Kings 19:12 

It is a sorrowful truth that many saints speak of salvation only in the past tense. “I was saved when I was sixteen,” one says. “I came to Christ back in my youth,” says another. As if the great miracle of new life were but a single note struck long ago—beautiful, yes, but now fading into silence. But I tell you, friends, salvation is not merely the crossing of the threshold—the God who called you out of darkness is the same God who calls you still—guiding, correcting, comforting, and speaking into the very core of your being. 

The question is not “Is God speaking to me?” but “Are you listening?” 

How did you first come to Christ? Was it not through a quiet feeling, that sacred stirring of the soul—that persistent inner nudge you could not deny? Not a trumpet, but a whisper. Not a lightning bolt, but a gentle draw. The still small voice. 

And now that you are His, do you think He shouts where He once whispered? Do you suppose the Shepherd raises His voice (or sends smoke signals) to guide the sheep He gently called? 

No. The still small voice that called you out of death is the same voice that leads you forward into life. It is quiet, not because it is weak, but because God will not compete with the noise of the world. He waits for the heart that wants and yearns to hear Him. 

We live in an age of distractions and noise. We’ve come to expect it. To need it. Our days are filled with the roar of opinions, the tremors of busyness, and the heat of anxieties. We look for signs. We chase voices. We yearn for something dramatic. 

And all the while, God waits to be heard in the quiet stillness. 

He has not ceased to speak. But we have ceased to be still. 

How can we hear Him when our minds are cluttered with noise? How can we follow when our hearts are choked with hurry? We must make space for the sacred. We must learn to sit and listen—not for spectacle, but for the Shepherd’s whisper. A whisper of conviction. A nudge to turn. A memorized Word recalled. A gentle feeling of peace in a direction. A quiet warning, “This is not the way.” A comforting assurance, “You are fine.”   

As you practice in this Way, the stillness grows to become your every moment regardless of the storm that may exist around you, and the more “prayer without ceasing” becomes your reality. Ongoing conversation with your Father as He guides and directs and produces His fruit in your daily life. The active presence of God with you. This is the peace that passes understanding. This is salvation.