We’ve all stood in the proverbial hallway. Waiting on doors to open. Not knowing which door to choose. Putting our hand on the handle only to find that it’s locked. Listening to what’s going on behind closed doors, trying to discern if that’s our cue to move on or move in.
Waiting…waiting…waiting… Crickets.
What do we do while in that hallway? When we are waiting and wondering and even worrying about which direction to go or if we should pull harder on the handle…how do we wait…and do it well?
Hallways can seem dark and narrow. There aren’t any windows. They can seem lonely. Stuffy. Even dingy.
But, look around you. In that hallway, that place of holding and waiting and wondering.
Raise up your chin and look around.
I bet there are family photos hanging on those walls, telling story after story of God’s faithfulness. New babies being born into young excited families. School pictures depicting proud young children sporting their braces and glasses. Families of 4 or 6 or 8 or more posing together to capture that time in their lives that they will never get back again.
A few steps away, there’s another framed memory but this one is from a trip taken with a loved one. Maybe a sunrise or sunset. Perhaps it’s just two smiling faces exploring new lands, tasting new foods, getting good rest in the midst of recreation.
You spot another picture. A photo of someone who left a legacy in your family. One of dedication to God. A man or woman of great faith who taught their children who taught their children how to pray.
Take another step or two. A hall table sits with an open Bible and a pair of old reading glasses placed right on top. Scripture has been underlined in red on pages that are soiled from oily fingers and tear stains. Perhaps a metal cross hangs above that table. A reminder of God’s love for us that is so vast we can not even comprehend it all.
**In Acts 1 and 4 Jesus tells his followers to wait on the arrival of the Holy Spirit
**In Psalm 37 and 7 David tells us to be still and wait patiently for the Lord
**In Deuteronomy Moses leads God’s chosen people around the desert for 40 years before their arrival at the Promised Land
**In Genesis Abraham had to wait 25 years before having the child God had promised him
Waiting on the Lord is nothing new. But, there is purpose in it so embrace it. Learn from it. Grow in it.
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.”
Psalm 130:5
What do you see in your hallway? Where has God been faithful to you in the past? What lessons has He taught you? Whose legacy can you follow while you wait?
When we’re in a holding pattern, let’s look around and take note of the snap shots of God’s faithfulness in our lives. Every memory, every recollection of God’s hand at work in our past. Let’s take the time to thank Him. Praise Him!
As you lean against the wall, slide down and take a seat. Grab a journal and a pen and begin writing down those stories. As you take in the sights, reminiscing on how God has built your faith over the years, tell Him how thankful you are.
When we take our focus off of those closed doors, something happens. Our eyes shift to the walls which are graced and laced with memories and memorials all pointing us back to God’s faithfulness.
When we meditate on Him and His steadfast love for us in the past, we are reminded that a door will open when He’s ready to reveal what’s behind it. When we are ready to receive what’s there.
Until then, there’s hope in the hallway. Let’s get so lost in praising Him for His faithfulness that we have trouble even focusing on closed doors. I believe sometimes he closes us off so that He can have us all to Himself. So He can point us to His faithfulness and grace. So He can have our undivided attention.
Let’s take a few deep breaths. Raise up our eyes and slowly look around.
Hope resides where you are. Jesus Christ is our hope and He is there with you. With me. In your past, in your present, He’s behind those closed doors and His words are at your fingertips.
Let’s lace our fingers around His. Turn the pages, read and meditate on Him in the here and now. Let’s think back on His faithfulness through generations past with laughter and tears and contemplation as we wait.
For the waiting is temporary. A hallway is merely an avenue which leads us somewhere else. Somewhere different.
What He intends for us will come to pass in His timing.
And we need to be ok with that.
Let’s be ok with that, shall we?
Reflect & Respond:
**Think to a time that you waited on the Lord to move, and He DID!
**Take time to reminisce on what He taught you in the waiting and thank Him for it.
Simple Faith 