As I opened my Facebook page this afternoon, the first day of 2011, my eyes fell upon these words in the status of a friend:
We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger in the path sign-posted with your decisions. Who you are and what you’ve done are all we’ll ever want. – Isaiah 26
I was struck by these words and began to wonder how many of us could actually say this is true about our lives… that we’re not in a hurry?… that God is all we’ll ever want? Yet… this is the beautiful life God desires for us.
I assumed this was from the Message paraphrase of the Bible and searched quick on the internet to find out for sure. When I did, I stumbled upon a blog post by a man named David Norman in which he said the following about this verse:
Isaiah spoke of a time when the people of God would find complete rest and peace and hope in God. He longed for the day when God would be enough for them. … I wonder, sometimes, if I am obedient to the extent that I am "content to linger" where God places me. I often find myself pushing and stretching in order to accomplish these big dreams God has placed within me. Very rarely do I ever find myself in an area of rest where I am not moving toward something.
I’m guessing many of us (and definitely myself) can associate with David Norman in the fact that we’re always focused on the next thing. Lately I’ve been learning a lot about the beauty of just letting something be. Instead of just trying to plan and fix and change everything around me… I’m beginning to see what God means when he says that he want to change ME.
So, as I start a new year, I resolve to not have a list of resolutions to try to keep, goals to attempt to meet, or plans to fix what I might perceive as broken in my life. Instead, God, this is what I want to be…
content to linger.
okay with standing still… with standing in pain… with standing in joy… with standing where you take me.
comfortable with simply being and refraining from trying and striving and pushing forward.
at ease with the path before me.
satisfied with letting You be more than enough for me.
resting in who You are and have made me to be.
And in the process, this coming year will be blessed in greater ways than I could ever imagine with my own resolutions, goals, and plans. This year… this day… this moment, Lord, teach me a way of life in which I’m truly able to say:
“I’m in no hurry, God. I’m content to linger in the path You have for me. Who You are and what You’ve done is all I ever want.”
joyfullyblessedblog.com 