Sometimes God just wants us to choose; sometimes be quiet and listen; sometimes patiently wait; and sometimes hear and respond.

It is up to us to feed ourselves and grow ourselves spiritually to a place of knowing Him, a place of maturity to be able to recognize His voice and be able to discern which sometimes we are in.

Stand firm or get on our knees and cry out; keep quiet or speak with boldness; ask more than once or claim a promise; be full of faith or admit our weakness; repent and turn, rejoice, worship and praise, stand in awe or fall to our face in reverence; give more, move forward, rest, be content or be stirred…but never nothing.

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but, the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

— 1 Kings 19:13-13