Out of the Blue
“… 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
We’re all familiar with this saying, “It just came to me out of the blue!” Just where did that originate and what is it supposed to mean? Like any normal person, I googled it. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms: “This phrase refers to a blue (i.e. clear) sky, from which nothing unusual is expected” (like a thunderbolt from a clear blue sky).
I want to share something that happened to me not too long ago which gave me a whole new meaning of “out of the blue.” I had misplaced a spare pair of glasses. I looked everywhere for them several times and finally gave up, thinking that they must have somehow gotten into the trash and were gone forever. After about two months, a thought came to me just “out of the blue.” In fact it came at least three times in just a couple of days that I should look in the top drawer of my nightstand (again). So, okay, I’ll take everything out and look AGAIN! Guess what? Yep, there were those glasses in between some magazines! Could that have been the LORD putting that thought into my head? Duh!
Now, surprised as I was, it really made me wonder how many times the LORD has spoken to me in that “still small voice” and I ignored it, assuming that it was just my own thought or idea. One of my favorite friends and Bible study teachers once quoted Charles Spurgeon, “To stifle ANY thought from God is no small sin.” Wow! That got my attention then, and it has it now!
Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” How can I follow Jesus, if I don’t hear His voice? Or even if I hear, do I recognize His voice? I know there have been many times when He has spoken to me in that still small voice, but I am busy doing something else and ignore it. When that happens, I lose the opportunity I had then and there to follow or obey His prompting.
So, now, when a random thought comes to me “out of the blue” I will listen and consider that it may be coming from heaven where Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father!
Lord, I want to be more attentive and sensitive to hear You when You speak. I want to be like Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10b) who heard the LORD and answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Perfect conclusion and you are so right as that is exactly what God wants us to do. Often we pray for something, then time passes and we forget that we had actually prayed for that, and all of a sudden, here comes our answer. I do pray for the ‘little things’ like losing and/or misplacing something and He is ever faithful in these things. We should never ignore His promptings either. God Bless You all and thank you for this devotional, even though I am reading it a few days late.