March 22, 2009

The Waiting Place

I've walked through these last 2 weeks feeling void of anything profound - or even interesting - to say. As I'm preparing to walk through the end of one season of ministry & life and enter into another it feels much like the "waiting" that Dr. Seuss describes in "Oh the Places You'll Go!". It has felt at times like riding some sort of warp-speed merry-go-round, experiencing Groundhog Day. For someone like me it can make you want to scream!

Today I felt like God affirmed to me that during periods of life - like this one I'm in - you may just have to live with the fact that you actually are completely empty of anything enlightening or mind-boggling to share with anyone else. It's OK to not have something to say. The important thing is that you're listening and watching - that during these times we're paying attention. Because it's later that the Lord will reveal exactly what it is He's teaching us in the now.

So if you're on the merry-go-round or stuck in "transition" like me, don't worry, don't panic, and don't think it's pointless. You're learning something right now that you won't actually know about until later. Dr. Seuss didn't like this idea. He said this place of waiting is useless. He encourages us to "escape all that waiting and staying". I say hogwash! The Lord led you there and He will walk you through it in His time. 

Wait. Listen. Pay attention. Pray.
Don't run from the Waiting Place.
Sometimes that's where He teaches us the most beautiful things!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Brian - oh how I have been in that place. And worried to death about it at times.

Perhaps you can think of it this way. It's a time to rest in God. Quit worrying about what to share and instead just curl up with God and receive a little, focus on relationship and communion.

The overflow will come.
For now rest in God.

Laudio said...

Brian, this is a great, encouraging post. I identify with this statement: "I've walked through these last 2 weeks feeling void of anything profound - or even interesting - to say."

We are absolutely learning during those periods, whether we know it or not. Typically I don't realize it until I'm able to have some distance and then look back.

You don't know me yet, but hopefully Jan will introduce us over lunch soon enough. I'm the worship pastor at one of The Brook's nearby church fellowships, Wall Highway. You are going to love your team at The Brook (but you probably already know this). They're phenomenal. Every one of them!

Marina said...

The Waiting Place has become familiar to me. It's like I watch everyone else moving forward with purpose, certainty & joy, while a glass wall separates us. Thankfully, I'm not in The Waiting Place right now. The Waiting Place has made me more sensitive to those who are in the very place that I dread. I want so badly to scoop them up and rescue them from that place. But I know from personal experience that character-building and refining is going on in their lives and it is a time that they will look back on and be grateful for just as I am grateful for all the hours I've logged in The Waiting Place. Great post.