Not Yet.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” -Psalm 40:1-3

My Wednesday morning was a loaded one. I had a breakfast with a friend, and then was honored to meet with several pastors from across our city for a monthly time of fellowship and prayer that we hosted here at The Woodlands United Methodist Church. As our time of fellowship and prayer ended just before lunch, I thought I would head over into the Harvest space and enjoy a few minutes of quiet and reflection before the busyness of the day kicked back up. I’ve loved having the Harvest space open on Wednesdays during our Perfectly Imperfect series as a place to come, pray over the prayers of the people, and just sit in the moments of “selah” that that space brings so beautifully. 

As I sat in the space for a while, I got up to leave and, as I did, I felt the Lord say, “No, not yet.” So bizarre to get those nudges but I just knew that it wasn’t time to leave. Who am I to question the Lord? So, I sat right back down. 

About ten minutes later, a young woman came in to the Harvest space and walked directly over to where I was sitting. Honestly, she sort of popped up on me and I didn’t see her come in. She scared me half to death and her reaction (and mine) was priceless. She looked shocked that I was there. With tears in her eyes, she shared with me that she had just gone to the office to ask if I was in because there’s some hurt in the midst of her story that she needed to discuss. Of course, I wasn’t in the office, I was in the Harvest space patiently obeying God and sitting still. The beautiful part of the story? As she walked out of the main office and hearing that I was not available, she said that she felt the Lord whisper to her to go to the Harvest worship space and take her prayers to the prayer wall. Which, was exactly where I had been sitting. For twenty minutes. 

Don’t you just love it when God moves like that? 

That moment took me right back to last Sunday’s message on Elijah. How beautiful to know that, amidst those seasons of brokenness and hardship, that God places people in our path to encourage us, to lift us up, and to speak hope into the midst of our hopelessness. I absolutely love it when God shows off. 😉 

Perhaps you need God to speak into your life today. Reach out. Talk with someone. Step out in faith and the Lord will answer. I truly believe it. Or, greater, perhaps you are the very person who someone needs to speak to.

My prayer for you, friend? Open eyes to see as God sees, open hearts to hear His voice, and for bold steps of obedience with your feet as you walk in Christ’s steps today.