Pretty sure this is not my first post on this subject. I have never been a patient waiter. I actually was a waitRESS at one time, but even then, I was more like a waitrestless. I didn’t like standing around during the slow times, waiting for another customer.
Truth is, standing around doing nothing was not in my job description. I was only 17 when I started waitressing, so I had a lot to learn about staying busy while you wait…to wait on people. There were always catsup bottles to be filled, stainless steel to be polished, windows to wash.
I’ve changed a bit in the last half century. I don’t stand around. I look for things to do because what I hate about waiting is that it feels like a waste of time. I should be DOING. But lately God has been showing me the beauty of NOT doing. Of sitting in his presence, hands folded and appearing idle, as I talk…and listen…to Him.
While swiping through photos of our Florida vacation, I came across these sunset pictures. Seems a bit redundant, doesn’t it? Why would anyone need eleven pictures of the exact same sunset? The answer…because I don’t want to miss anything. I have the utmost patience while waiting for that perfect shot, when the rays of the setting sun stretch out across the water like golden scepters and glaze the clouds in shimmering purple. If you just stand still, and do nothing but focus on the sun, the beauty shifts and changes with every passing minute.
The same thing can happen as you still your hands and thoughts and focus on the Son. A verse you’ve read over and over for decades is suddenly awash with gold…because it’s what He wants you to hear right now in this quiet moment. Without warning, you see a glimmer of light on a problem you’ve been wrestling with for days. He reminds you of someone you need to pray for or reach out to…someone who’s been lost in the shadow of your busyness.
A lot of us are waiting right now. Waiting to go back to work, for the kids to go back to school, for stores and restaurants to open. Waiting for a stimulus check. Waiting to hug someone. Waiting for a family member to come home from the hospital. During the waiting, have you been finding more time to be NOT doing? Who or what has God brought to mind? If you haven’t, let me encourage you to find a quiet place to fold your hands, close your eyes, and do nothing but worship and listen. We’d love to hear what the Lord is showing you in the silence today.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26