There are some seasons where it feels like time stands still. You’re biding your time. Holding your breath. On stand-by. Waiting.
Possibly you are hoping to hear back that you made the team, got the job, or were accepted to the university of your choice.
Sometimes the happy anticipation mounts because you just can’t wait to hear the great news that you know is coming. You’ve waited a long time and the breakthrough is imminent.
But sometimes, the waiting is not fun. Time stands still. There’s uncertainty and an outcome that’s less than ideal on its way. It’s almost physically painful.
How will the review with the boss actually go – they’ve been a Jekyll and Hyde all along. Not sure how your grade will appear on that final report card. Or maybe you are waiting by the phone for the call that lets you know your loved one has passed on.
Waiting is hard work.
Waiting can make it feel like time stands still. I know. Today marked the closure of a season like this for me. This morning my grandma passed away.
With the season of Covid Quarantines still a reality, it’s been hard to navigate visits and real authentic connection since February. The last few days have been heart wrenching.
So how do we wait for outcomes and for life to move along, without fretting and losing our minds? Here are 3 secrets to renewal that I have found helpful.
1. When time stands still: speak to your soul.
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honour depend on God, He is my Mighty Rock, my Refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge. (Psalm 62:5-8 NIV)
When I remind my soul that it can rest and trust in God, I have effectively removed the heaviness of problem solving and the crush of confusion from my soul. The One Who knows how to heal, restore and carry me can infuse my soul with the strength it needs to keep going.
Yes, reality says that the waiting will still happen. The story is still unfolding. But I have given my soul permission to relax my tight fists, and open my hands to receive the help God longs to give me.
2. When time stands still: let God speak to your spirit.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV)
Knowing that the Creator of all the earth is intimately aquainted with me – because He made me and He loves me – activates this promise of strength of spirit within me. It’s part of the Creator-and-Creation relationship package.
3. When time stands still: speak rest and peace over your body.
I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will rest secure. (Psalm 16:8-9 NIV)
I have noticed that when I get stressed out, my body gets tense. My muscles actually begin to manifest the upset that I am feeling in my soul.
I can pause, even just for 60 seconds and remind myself that God is for me – even if it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. I can speak to my soul, and release my cares into God’s Guardianship.
My spirit can be refreshed when I take time to meditate on a scripture or a song that pulls me into alignment with who God is and who I am in Him. What He promises to do for me and in me. No matter where I am and what’s going on.
And my body will begin to follow suit with receiving peace and rest from God. When I assure my soul that God has me in His hand, and when my spirit chooses to believe that God is my Sustainer while I wait, then I can speak God’s truth and word over my body and begin to sense His Presence manifest in my body.
Sound too good to be true?
Maybe you’ve tried this before. Or, possibly this is a new connection for you?
You can try these 3 steps using the six verses of the 23rd Psalm. Enjoy how God can slow your pulse, ease your tensions and help you rest.
The Apostle Paul in the New Testament lived quite a life of adversity and unknown. He spoke to his soul, his spirit and his body – and saw the resurrection power of Jesus create renewal and strength in his life. We witness this by reading through books like: Acts, Romans, Corinthians, and the Prison Epistles (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians).
Maybe you’ve never thought of Paul’s life this way. He was shipwrecked. Beaten. Jailed. Waited to appear before rulers and leaders who had the power to set him free or imprison him. He endured physical and emotional hardships. Yet he saw the hope of God breaking into his life over and over. And luckily he wrote it down, so that we could gain strength from his life experiences and breakthroughs!
Christ in me transforms my soul, spirit and body.
I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty. (Philippians 4:13 TPT)
I pray that as you navigate each day, with both it’s beauty and difficulty, you may know the Presence of God in power and fullness. All that He is has become readily available to you through the richness of Christ’s love and life.
Feel free to share below in the comments how you have experienced the presence of God empower your body, your soul, your spirit!
Wherever time stands still for you: blessing you today to stand firm in the goodness of God. May you know the hope of God filling you up in abundance!
Love, Jenn
PS. Keep your eyes and ears open for the release of my new book: Hope Breaks Through: Discovering God’s Signs in Your Life. It can be a self-directed or a 30 day journey to uncover personal signs from God for healing, direction and transformation. Details for book purchases will be available here: in Resources & Updates.
Copyright (c) 2020 Jennifer Bryant-Choong. All Rights Reserved.
