When God is Silent and All You Can Do is Wait...

I am all about
Quiet and Calm... 
About Slow and Sabbath.

It took me years to give in to it,
to embrace it.
But this is actually
how I am wired.
As in, God made me this way
on purpose, for a purpose.
I used to fight against it... 
I used to try to keep up. 
And then I just gave up
and didn't try at all for a season.

But here's the deal: 
 I still have to do stuff! 

Being wired Calm... 
being a slow, internal processor
is not all sleeping in
and being alone
(aka: introvert dreams)... 
It's not about being
passive or ineffective. 
It's about being
extremely intentional
and very effective, 
within healthy boundaries.


It took me years to figure out
what those boundaries look like.


I'm blessed in that My Honey
is wired much the same, 
which lends itself to a
peaceful, restful atmosphere
in our home. 
And to no one's surprise, 
we raised a Girlie whose bent
is cool, calm, and collected as well.

We are, as I've written before,
a people of Peace.

We are intentional in what we say
and where we go and we offer a respite
from the rush and the riots...

We are comfortable 
being uncomfortable
when it comes to waiting.
We pray and we seek... 
we pause for the next move
to be made known.

But even for us, 
there comes a time
when all the patience
and waiting wears thin
and the silence becomes
loud in our heads.
This is when the temptation
comes to stomp our feet
and try to race on towards
whatever is next!

This is when we begin to wonder
if anyone (Anyone?) is listening 
and this is also when the enemy
slithers in and whisper-shouts
that no one is... No one is listening...
that no one sees or knows or cares.

Of course, we know this is a lie.
We can feel it in our bones.
We talked about it just last week,
how we are never alone...

When God is Silent
and All You Can Do is Wait,
this is what I have learned:
Just Lean In to the Mystery
and Embrace the Not Knowing...

I know.
  It's so hard!

And in our culture of
but-I-need-to-know-now, 
microwave-patience,
just-Google-it demands,
it feels like you are pretty much 
doing nothing.

But Waiting is not Doing Nothing.

In fact, waiting is an active verb.

"Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength..." Isa 40:31

That word there for wait, --it is qavah
and it means to bind together,
to gather, look, patiently,
tarry, wait for, on, upon...

To look for...
  to wait upon... 
    to be expectant... 
    
It doesn't sound like we can be napping
and call it good.

No.  

It sounds like we are
an active participant
in the waiting, right?

And don't miss this:

After that portion of this verse?
Yeah... all sorts of Promises:

"But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind."

I don't know about you? 
But for me? 
Well, that doesn't sound
passive or late at all!

(It sounds like something about
His timing being just right...)




Photo's by Sam Goodgame on Unsplash

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:

LORI SCHUMAKER FOR #MOMENTSOFHOPE

ANITA OJEDA for #InspireMeMondays