This morning God showed me some things for my own life right now, which may be true for some of you as well, so I thought I would share a couple of them.
In one vision, I was driving behind a big black dump truck in the right lane, minding my own business when it suddenly braked hard, so I had to also. I looked to my left, intending to pass him, but saw a orange highway construction sign which said "Lane Closure Ahead- Merge left." The left lane was already full of cars, and traffic was almost stop and go in both lanes. I knew immediately that I was going to be there a while.
After that, God showed me another vision in which I was driving through a parking lot (as a short-cut to the other side?) but my way was completely blocked by a truck trying to back a trailer into a parking place. He was "crossing my 'T'," as sailors would say, and I could see a man hurrying up to talk to me. I already knew what he wanted. He was going to ask me to wait while the truck driver did what he needed to do. Again, I knew immediately that I was going to be there for a while.
The two visions had the same message. My life is about to slow down, because God is going to have me waiting. Not necessarily specifically for me, but because He is doing something elsewhere, and the road ahead is not ready yet. If I rush ahead, I will definitely be in the way, and I may get in an accident. It is time for me to slow down and Enter The Waiting again. Ugh. Waiting SUCKS. I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it!
I am thinking of the story I read of the Ironman Triathlon in Tahiti. One of the international sports reporters noted the slow pace of life there, and asked the local mayor if they had any word in their language corresponding to the Mexican expression "manyana." (Which means "Tomorrow," but it is INDEFINITE. As in, "when I get around to it.") The mayor was thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "No, we have no word in our language that conveys that great sense of URGENCY here."
Ok, tantrum over. Sorry.
Sometimes waiting can feel a lot like being in jail (or in a hospital bed!) You are not allowed to leave and do what YOU want to do, because you are compelled to stay. Right where you are. Meals are provided, but the timing and the selection are totally out of your control. Picky eater? You'll EAT it and LIKE it! But sometimes, God meets us in jail- in our Waiting. Jeremiah 33:1-3 tells us,
While Jeremiah WAS STILL LOCKED
UP IN JAIL, a second message from
GOD was given to him:
"This is GOD's Message, the God
who made earth, made it livable
and lasting, known everywhere as
GOD. 'Call to me and I will answer
you. I'll tell you marvelous and
wondrous things that you could
never figure out on your own.' "
Yeah, I think God doesn't hesitate to put us on ice for a season for his own purposes. And then He meets us in in our jail-- in our Waiting. Moses spent 40 years tending sheep on the back side of the desert, after fleeing a life of luxury as a prince of Egypt after he killed a man. FORTY YEARS. And then he encountered God at the burning bush...
Joseph was 17 years old when God gave him two dreams showing his future status as Prime Minister of Egypt, with his whole family bowing down to him. But he made the mistake of telling them, and shortly after that, his brothers sold him into slavery.
(Please Note: Not everything God shows you is to be shared! Some things are for you alone. Luke 2:19 in the NIV tells us "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." The Message phrases it "Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself." God may be sharing His secrets with you (Amos 3:7) but God may also be saying to you, much like Gandalf to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, "Keep it secret- keep it safe!")
After Joseph was sold into slavery, life became better as a trusted slave of an important man, until he was unjustly thrown in Pharaoh's prison. There he languished. We don't have a record of how long he was slave to Potiphar, or how long he was in prison, but we do know that he was 30 years old when he became Prime Minister. So that's 12 -13 years of waiting, involuntarily. We don't have any record of his interaction with God during this time, but we are shown that God gives him the interpretation of dreams for two fellow prisoners and then for Pharaoh himself, so Joseph must have had a rich prayer life. But I'm sure he complained to God regularly during those years in Waiting about how unfair it all was, not realizing God was setting him up for something.
God spoke to Elijah in his isolation, as he hid from Jezebel in a cave (1 Kings 19). And God had Paul in isolation for three years after his conversion (Galatians 1:11-20), where he was not involved in ministry at all. Peter was in prison (Acts 12), pending trial and execution, when an Angel appeared. His chains fell off, the prison gates opened, and the angel escorted him out to freedom. Paul and Silas were beaten AND flogged and left in the stocks in prison in Philippi (Acts 16). God sent an earthquake while they were singing Praises, (oh Wow!) and all their chains fell off. But unlike Peter, they were not free to leave. Why? Because God had an a divine appointment set up for them in that prison cell, just like he had arranged for Joseph in prison, centuries before. It led to salvation of the Warden and his whole family.
Paul obediently went to Jerusalem, knowing he would be arrested there and suffer great hardship. But eventually, he made it to Rome under Roman guard-- where he had been wanting to go in the first place! Acts 20:30-31 tells us:
For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own
rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.
Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom
of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chuck Colson founded Prison Fellowship after his time in jail, which has impacted countless lives. Tradition tells us the Apostle John (the Revelator) received the book of Revelation, the final book in the Bible, while a prisoner on the Island of Patmos.
So maybe God has you involuntarily Waiting right now. Whether in jail, in long-term illness, or maybe stuck in a business with no way out. Maybe, just maybe, God has you there for His purposes. I am thinking again of the lyrics to Steven Curtis Chapman's song Be Still and Know:
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is Holy
Be still, O restless soul of mine
Bow before the prince of peace
Let the noise and clamor cease
May God bless you with stillness, and with peace in The Waiting.
and check out this thoughtful blog post by Rick Ezell:
Comments