When we are in the throws of trauma and devastation, the LAST thing we want to do is be still. We want to fix things right away. Rectify what is wrong. Come up with a solution or a least some sort of plan that helps us to feel like things are moving in the right direction.
But what if that's not how we are supposed to respond? What if all of that thought and energy only pollutes the situation with chaos and busyness without actually accomplishing anything beneficial at all? What if all of the planning and taking action only distracts us from being able to hear the will of the Father?
I am a self proclaimed planner. I've joked that, not only do I have a 'plan A' and 'plan B,' but that I have thought all the way through to 'plan Z.' I consider all of the angles and the potential outcomes. So when I found myself in an impossible situation with really difficult decisions, I found it excruciating when I heard "Wait. Be Still."
I think we can hear from God in many different ways. In this particular situation, I feel that I received that word multiple times. First, I heard it deep within myself. In the following weeks, that phrase appeared numerous times in my Bible reading. Lastly, multiple friends would speak that same encouragement to me. I needed to cease the endless hours I was a committing to figuring out what the future looked like for my family and I needed to wait. I needed to stop all of the researching and hunting for answers and I needed to be still.
Those were definitely the longest months of my life. Living in limbo is not my comfort zone and we had a solid 18 months before we even were given something concrete to confirm any hope for the dust to settle a bit.
And yet, even though we have more answers than we did this time last year, there is still so much in the air for us. There are still several big 'unknowns' right in front of us. And some of those unknowns lead us to question some of the previous answers we have felt settled on earlier. I can feel my fingers getting itchy to get to work on research and my mind feels loaded and preoccupied.
But then I'm reminded of the passage in Matthew 6:26-34:
"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
I know many of us are pretty familiar with that passage, but really let it sink in: if the God who created it all attends to the flowers and the birds, how much more will He attend to us who He made in His image?
So rather than trying to control our situations, as many of us are inclined to do, I encourage you to stop. Rest and wait for the Lord. Only He can redeem the grotesque and make it beautiful. Only He can take death and create life. And I do believe that He can do that in our situations, too- it'll just be so much more rich and sweet if we stop trying to do His job and wait for Him.
"But as for me, I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me."
Micah 7:7
"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope."
Psalm 130:5
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