I stood in the middle of the elementary school gym. Students lined up on either side of a tug-of-war rope waiting for me. I quickly grabbed the rope positioning myself at the end.
A whistle blew and I jerked back to reality. The rope almost slipped from my hands as the pulling began. The motion of pulling and pushing as I tried to anchor myself for the team brings to mind my current season.
This memory of tug-of-war draws me into the present and my summer of waiting. Without a doubt, God’s sacred tension leaves me unsettled some days.
The Connection of Past and Present
You may ask yourself, “How does one simple game of tug-of-war lead me to the sacred tension of waiting?” I am asking myself, too.
Please stick with me.
God has walked with me through seasons of waiting before. But the common thread in every waiting time is the tension of pushing and pulling.
God pulls me closer but I push back with everything I’ve got. Just like in a tug-of-war game, the team pulling wants to cross the middle line and claim victory.
I push and pull away from God as I struggle to maintain control of every detail in the waiting. If I release the power to God at the beginning of any cycle of waiting it often looks like a tug-of-war game with God. My victory looks like claiming the control that deep inside I know I should offer to God.
My past frequently intersects with my future. It’s a steady back-and-forth that may look like this:
My belief in ordinary seasons of life turns into unbelief.
Attempts of surrender become a desperate battle to hold on.
Not knowing the outcome of the journey, but trusting that God knows is faith
A desire for answers that turn into more questions is part of the journey
Each intersection with God during the experience either draws me closer to Him or keeps me standing in place.
How Can the Sacred Tension of Waiting Lead Us Closer to God?
I ask myself during these periods of unrest if I am good at waiting. I find myself back at square one more time than not. Most of you know I even wrote a book about living in the wilderness and waiting well in those seasons of life. You would think I would have it together by now.
How do we move forward when we feel stuck? Is God even with us when we feel alone in the waiting?
What if we start a waiting season knowing this season is the start of our walk toward abundance? God provides an open invitation to spend time with Him in the waiting space. He is right there waiting for us to say “yes”.
You may know this phrase “Perspective is everything.” What frame of mind are you clinging to when you are in a holding pattern? Knowing God wants to walk with you in any season is a comfort. Pushing away from the One who wants nothing more than to help you impacts the relationship God desires to have with you.
Waiting, not knowing, and holding uncertainty with hope, creates a tension that is always better when we invite God into the same space. The Sacred Tension of Waiting Click To TweetLet’s remember that we reach Canaan only through the wilderness–the Promised Land …
the hope of God,
the joy of a life with God,
and the blessing of salvation that is found on the other side of waiting.
Let’s embrace the sacred tension of waiting and let God lead us to a life of abundance in Him.
Equipping and empowering women one heart at a time!
Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash
Thank you for sharing your insights on the profound nature of waiting. Your poetic articulation of the tug-and-pull between our impatient tendencies and life’s call for patience is truly moving. This piece serves as a gentle reminder to embrace the unfolding process of life with grace and trust. Your reflection on the sacred tension in waiting has resonated with me and likely with many others. Looking forward to more of your thoughtful explorations.
The Sacred Tension of Waiting” is a beautifully written, thought-provoking piece that encourages us to embrace the periods of waiting in our lives as valuable, meaningful, and, indeed, sacred. It invites us to reframe our perspective on waiting and find solace in the knowledge that there’s a unique beauty in the tension it brings. Thank you for this inspiring reflection.
The waiting room is a hard place to find ourselves. You’ve captured beautifully the push-pull, back and forth dynamic. He often has big lessons for us during that time. But that grace doesn’t always make it easier and often isn’t realized til long after the waiting is done.
May God meet you with lovingkindness during this season. It can be a difficult one. But He is able. And may your writing encourage your spirit, friend.
The waiting room is a beautiful way too describe this season. God is spending a lot of time teaching me and I am thankful He does not get tired of doing that.
I receive your prayer for God’s lovingkindness during this season. Hugs and blessings to you!
“Waiting, not knowing, and holding uncertainty with hope, creates a tension that is always better when we invite God into the same space.” How true, Mary. It can be so difficult to surrender when we’re filled with so much uncertainty. Love and blessings of strength and peace to you in this season of unrest!
Thank you for encouraging me with your comment. God continues to teach me daily and I always do better when I allow Him to do His work in and through me. Prayers for you during this season of Autumn.
That thought about “seasons…”
I need to reteach myself every time the wheels come off that the inconvenience or the upheaval will likely be temporary and the world is not going to end.
That image of tug of war is certainly vivid and accurate!
I understand what it is like to reteach myself how to surrender to God daily. I love His patience with me and His love and caring when I need to begin again. I love the image of a tug of war game too because I have days where I feel like I am engaged in this game with God.
Thank you, Mary, for expressing so beautifully the tug of war in waiting that gives way to abundance as we yield all to Him!! ❤️🙌
You’re welcome, Julie! Yielding to God is difficult for me and many others but the abundance it produces is worth the effort every time.