In the waiting



For a good portion of my life, I've been in a hurry. Hurry to get work done so I can play. Hurry to find the right person to marry to get that settled. Hurry to find success in my career. Hurry to accomplish and conquer and achieve.  This led to many, many mistakes, heartaches, and even migraines. Ugh. However, now that I've hit my 50s, I've come to recognize the immense power of slowing down, downshifting, and allowing other people to thrive and achieve. I've learned the genius of Sabbath rest, of quiet silence, and of contemplative prayer and fasting. 

In the Scriptures, many seasons of waiting, rest, and the silence of God occur. At times God is on the move and He uses humans to do great things, but more often than I realized, He uses the downtime to shape, mold and build up our faith muscles.  God might lead us into major activity or lead us beside still waters (Ps 23). Moses had years of no recorded leading or communication by God. Abraham had to navigate vague directions along with much silence from God.

Maybe, just maybe God's Holy Spirit is leading us into inaction and waiting and quiet peace? Maybe He wants to speak to us almost inaudibly like He did for Elijah in 1 Kings 19?

May I be ok with waiting in my journey of following Jesus and being led by the Holy Spirit today.

“When I cannot understand my Father’s leading,

And it seems to be but hard and cruel fate,

Still I hear that gentle whisper ever pleading,

God is working, God is faithful, ONLY WAIT.”


 Cowman, L. B. (1925). Streams in the Desert (p. 279). The Oriental Missionary Society.


Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

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