ACTIVELY WAITING ON GOD

Crickets

Many people have a word of the year. I have more of a focus.

When the new year arrived without a specific objective, I had no idea what God was doing.   

In the past, the trajectory for the following year arrived long before the fireworks boomed, crackled, and whistled at midnight. These concise statements, encapsulated in rhyme would often surface mid-year, or at the latest, each fall. After almost twenty years of these directional ditties, 2022 began with nothing. Blank. Empty.

Concocting any number of possibilities would have been fairly easy, but what’s the point of that?

Every year I waited, listening to hear what would surface, eager to discover the anchoring point for the following year, and writing it down the moment it was clear. I never allowed myself to get distracted by the new arrival since there was more life to live in the current plan. But come January, I was like a kid with new skates, eager to get my feet inside the phrase and explore the possibilities. 

But this year was different.

Make It Clear

Years ago, when the first statement came, I realized staying focused was critical. I employed a decorative rabbit with the task of declaring each year’s directive.

Loyal and without complaint, the stone rabbit—in chef hat, scarf, and jacket, heralded each message from a chalkboard held in its hands. All year. Every year. For almost twenty years. In the hallway next to the antique dresser. Where it would be seen many times each day.

On New Year’s Day, I would wash the previous year’s statement off of the small chalkboard. 

While it dried, the retiring sentiment would be added to the card taped on the back with the statements from previous years. Then, artfully chalking the new saying, until it was ‘just right’ since I would be reading it daily. 

Once I was satisfied, I returned the chalkboard to the open hands of my stalwart friend. 

But this year—no statement, no washing, no artful chalking.

Fasting to Feast

While I did not have a specific directive, I did have a fresh leather journal. It was gifted from a friend, and so exquisite I had purposed to wait to use it until the perfect time. 

New year, new journal, perfect time.

For a lover of words, opening the handcrafted leather cover and feeling the thick paper, ready to receive, felt celebratory.

Taking up my favorite pen I began laying down my impressions with ink. 

Before filling the first page, the thought of “QUIET” wafted gently into my mind. A strong sense of being QUIET for a month settled in. 

Another thought emerged about a single word each month instead of a statement for the year. 

As I journaled, delving in and exploring QUIET unearthed LISTEN. Being QUIET provides space to LISTEN.

It seemed that February’s word might be LISTEN. That sounded luscious to me. 

Of course, you have to be QUIET first in order to LISTEN. 

Waiting Not Orchestrating

The decision to wait upon the Lord for His guidance regarding the annual focus left me calm, like the surface of a pre-dawn pond. Refusing to rush, to orchestrate or manufacture the annual course of action, was QUIET

Journaling from this tranquil place of QUIET created space to process less peaceful and more angst-producing times. Praise to God for His tender care spilled across the page. Line after line of realizations about God’s keeping grace filled the page. 

God is always KEEPING what and who is His. 

KEPT, could that be March’s word? 

When I began to recount my delight regarding the rhythm of my annual Daniel Fast every January, FAST appeared in my spirit as if in bold font.

I began to wonder if FAST was April’s focus.

QUIET. LISTEN. KEPT. FAST. 

The words written in order prompted the next arrival—THINK. Immediately followed by PONDER. 

“So interesting,” I wrote, and then unbidden, MOVE emerged on the scene.

I recorded what I understood, listing each word. Some of the words resonated, some curious, others left me wondering, but all of them were humbly received and gratefully recorded. 

Behold, I Do A New Thing

Being QUIET for the month of January seemed fitting with the need I sensed for space. 

Our culture applauds achievement, acquiring, hurry, hustle, and pressing. QUIET—being still, waiting, and tending to our hearts is anything but those soul-pinching things. 

I sensed an opening, a gracious expansion of soul as I considered being QUIET in addition to holding room for whatever was needful, intended, and all that would come.

God and I visited regarding QUIET. The more I journaled, the clearer the impression and then confirmation that QUIET was indeed January’s focus. 

“At this point, I know for sure that I will be QUIET for January. Less media, more solitude, and silence. The QUIET is mostly an inside job—a state of being. Being still, settled, content, and at peace, because under everything is faith and trust in You. I don’t have to strive—You say receive. I don’t have to pursue but rest. 

An antsy spirit is not Your desire for me nor is it healthy or helpful. I long to slip into this QUIET like inching into a bathtub of hot soapy water, then immersing myself chin deep and embracing it all. 

I have needed to be QUIET for a very long time. Fear, anxiety, busyness, striving, the stress and strain of relationships and faithlessness have been marvelous deterrents to embracing and experiencing QUIET.”

Not Running Ahead

While the absence of a “focus” and deafening silence was unusual, I knew He would guide me if I simply waited upon Him. Fretting over not having a trajectory was pointless and guaranteed distress so I wasn’t going there. 

The feasting of New Year’s day contrasted sharply with a day of fasting. Spiritually, the sumptuous spread of guidance and direction, served up while I journaled, was far more enjoyable than the creamy spinach-artichoke dip from the day before.

Instead of feeling deprived in any way, being QUIET, by trusting Him with the process, allowed me to discover what He had in mind. In waiting, He delivered a treasure trove of riches—specific guidance about the year ahead. One month—one word at a time. 

So here we are today, and I am waiting again. While having a stockpile of blog posts appeals to my reason, life is unfolding differently. The four-week margin’ of prepared posts has dwindled without an influx of new ideas or a specific course.

So I wait. 

Check back next week and let’s discover, together, exactly where we will go from here. 

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How about you? Do you find yourself waiting on something?

Take comfort, my friend, our good God works in the waiting. 

SALTY OATS has a couple of new quotes about WAITING if you are interested. Andrew Murray shares some insight about human reasoning at BREADCRUMBS.