Standing still has never come naturally to any of us. We live in a world of constant motion, where progress is measured in checkmarks and milestones with each step carefully planned toward our next achievement. But sometimes, in those moments when everything in us wants to sprint ahead, God asks us to wait.
The silence of waiting feels different when you've spent years measuring life by accomplishments. When your calendar has always been full and your path seemed clear, learning to be still can feel like learning a new language - foreign and uncomfortable at first.
Exodus 14:14 speaks to this challenge: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Being still - it goes against everything our fast-paced world teaches us. Yet in those moments of stillness, something remarkable happens.
Waiting strips away the layers we build around ourselves. The identity wrapped up in achievement starts to loosen. The constant drive to prove ourselves begins to quiet. In its place, we find something else - a chance to let God work on our hearts rather than our resumes.
The routines of daily life teach us about dedication, but waiting teaches us about surrender. It's in these seasons that God often works most intentionally in our lives. When we can't push forward on our own strength, we learn to lean into His. When we can't control the outcome, we learn to trust His timing.
For those of us who've built our lives around continual improvement and forward momentum, waiting feels like moving backward. But God's perspective on growth looks different than our carefully crafted plans and schedules. Sometimes the greatest growth happens in the moments when nothing seems to be happening at all.
Maybe right now you're in one of those waiting seasons. Maybe it feels like everyone else is moving forward while you're standing still. Remember that God uses these moments - not to hold us back, but to prepare us for what's ahead. He's working on our character in ways that no amount of planning or effort could accomplish.
In the quiet moments, between the milestones and defining moments, God is crafting something in us that goes beyond worldly achievement. He's building patience where there was only drive, humility where there was pride, and trust where there was self-reliance.
The waiting isn't empty time - it's preparation time. Just as practice prepares us for performance, every moment of waiting is preparing us for what God has planned. We might not see the progress in the same way we see other achievements, but the growth is happening all the same.
Embrace these moments of stillness, knowing that God is at work in ways we might not yet understand. Because sometimes the greatest victories don't come from pushing harder, but from learning to be still and trust in His perfect timing.