The Still Small Voice
(Submitted by Irwin Burton)

I heard the following illustration on HOPE channel:

During the Depression, jobs were scarce.  A telegraph office needed a new telegraph operator.  They wanted the best, so they put an ad in the paper which said, "Telegraph operator
needed.  If you are a good operator and are interested, apply in person at the telegraph office at such and such a time, on such
an such a day."

The appointed day arrived and many potential telegraph operators showed up at the telegraph office.  Each one wanted the job.  Each one NEEDED the job.  Each one knew he was the best operator in the area.

But when they all went into the office waiting room, there was no one there to tell them what to do.  There were no signs to tell them what to
do.  The reception desk was empty.  There was no sound to indicate that anything was going on except for the clicking of a telegraph key on the
corner of the reception desk.  They were just a group of young men, desperately wanting this job opportunity.

As time slipped by, the perspective operators began to fidget and move around.  Some became annoyed that there was no one to tell them where to go to fill out an application.  Some started talking to each other about their experience in the past.  Pretty soon the whole

room was a buzz as everyone moved around talking to their neighbors, waiting for someone to show up to tell them what they needed to do to apply for the job.

After some time the president of the telegraph company walked in and told them, "Thank you all for coming but you can all go home now.  We have our new operator."  Standing beside him was a young man that appeared to be the one who had been hired.

Someone said, "Hey, that's not fair.  I came down here to apply for the job I read about in the paper and I wasn't even given a chance."  The president said, "Oh, but you did apply.  All of you applied.  But this young man was the only one to pass the application test.

"You see, while you were all moving around and talking, this young man was listening.  He was the only one who heard our message above the din of noise in this room.  Remember, we were looking for a 'good telegraph operator.'  One who would be able to accurately read and understand Morse Code, even when everything else was vying for his attention.

This young man is the only one who understood the message we sent in code to the telegraph on the desk:  'If you can hear this message and understand it, go through the door at the back of the room.  The job is yours.'  This man did just that.  The job is his."

(1 Kings 19:9-13)