Stay

Stay

Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

MY DAD WAS the public works director for our small town when I was growing up. When snow was in the evening forecast, it was his job to stay awake, watching the weather and deciding when to call his plow crew and head out. They’d plow through the night, clearing the way for school buses and commuters long before the sun rose. Sometimes, they’d plow through the night and long into the following day, continuously circling their routes, trying to stay enough ahead of the storm to keep everyone safe and the roads open.

Watching the world from the front seat of his snowplow gave my dad knowledge and perspective. He knew which cars slid off icy roads in higher percentages than others and steered me clear of those makes and models as I grew into adulthood. But most importantly, he learned the wisdom in staying. Long retired, he still tells me to stay home and stay put anytime we get a particularly nasty blend of rain/snow, reminding me that anything I had planned—no matter how pressing it feels in the moment—is not worth the risk of taking to the streets too early, before the plows have had a chance to sand slippery streets, melting the ice and making it safe.

My dad tells me to stay put when the roads are icy because he knows what’s happening behind the scenes and inside the plow trucks. He knows that the salt needs time to melt the ice and an hour or two will make the difference between a treacherous intersection and safe, wet roads.

God is no different. He often works behind the scenes, asking us to stay put, to wait, to trust that he sees, he knows, and he is at work. Sometimes, staying is the hard, brave, smart thing to do.

Heavenly Father, give us wisdom to know when you are telling us to go and when you are asking us to stay put. May we know when to wait, refusing to run ahead of you, knowing you are at work behind the scenes on our behalf. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Ask someone with a deeply rooted faith (a mentor, a pastor) how they distinguish when God is asking them to wait and when he is telling them to go.