The other day, I had a rare holiday off from work alone. I decided to use this time to assuage some wanderlust in me and ventured out to the local state park, which features a large waterfall, to do some hiking and enjoy the autumn season. Since it was about midday on a weekday, there were very few other visitors at the park, and the ones who were there stayed in a different area from where I was.
So, I had this incredible opportunity to sit and be, mostly by myself, right there in the middle of His Creation. I had taken my camera, and after I snapped some photos, I decided to sit down on a large rock very near the water, which was actually at pretty high levels for this time of year. As I rested, my thoughts drifted this way and that, pondering the things He has been speaking, silently praying over some people and circumstances in my life. Then, as I quieted my mind, He began to speak…through the water.
I watched in silence as the vast majority of the water rushed over rock and stone and kept flowing and tumbling over and over at a breakneck pace on and on downriver. But my attention was drawn to the water that leisurely made its way to the banks, quietly flowing around the rocks, and swirled in a calm rhythm out of the rush of the river’s flow. What I saw spoke deeply to my soul and illustrated what He has been speaking to my heart over and over: the words “be still and wait upon the Lord”.
I noticed how, at first glance, this water was calm and less interesting to look at. There was no visible sign of its movement – no foaming white caps or blurred streaks indicating progress. These waters were still from striving at the endless tumbling over rock and shrub in the movement of the river with the rest of the waters. But upon closer inspection, I noticed they did not lack progress, for they broiled with an energy from beneath that spoke of a recharging, an impending re-emergence that would make the breakneck pace of the rapid waters appear tame by comparison. The broiling spoke of diving deep and, having touched the solid bedrock beneath, being catapulted back to the surface. This was a sort of re-emergence after a season of being buried. This was a private process, not seen by the eye, except in the evidence of its completion.
This process took place between the foundation of solid rock beneath and the shelter of solid rock above. This is no ordinary season. This is no lack-of-progress moment. This is the slow unveiling. This is the revealing of the true nature. As it boils up, surface-level appearances give way to the revealing of the true nature of these waters – that they long to re-enter the movement of the river over the rocks and throughout the land in which it flows.
The river I speak of is the Kingdom of God. We, as Servants of the Most High, go through seasons of active service and ministry, moving rapidly and fluently in His Spirit, advancing the Kingdom as He commands.
And then there are the seasons on the banks – the waters of the river that are pulled out of the advancing movement, and into the refining and re-defining broiling movement (similar to those waters in the lower half of the photo here).
Friends, this is where I am. This is where many of us are at this moment. Some call it a season of rest. Some call it a season of being “hidden”. Some may even call it a wilderness season. Regardless of what you call it, this is a season of major, unprecedented growth, testing, and a revealing of the nature of God in us through the laying down (or stripping away) of the unholy parts of us.
I thoroughly identified with these waters…with the season on the banks. Having been removed from the advancing parts of the river (active and costly ministry), these waters underwent a transformative season. They were drawn deeper, closer than ever to the Solid Rock, and after a time of rest beneath the river’s flow, they re-emerged with a new fervor, a new motion, and a new direction. The process itself cannot be seen, and is often hard to speak (or write) about, but it exists. And it is of the most extreme importance.
Why is this process important? Because, in the mighty rush of the river’s flow – in the rapid pace of the constant advancement – it is often difficult to see the rock that buoys these waters. In the rush of ministry and service, we often neglect coming closer to, or coming to know, the Solid Rock! I am guilty of this – neglecting the all-important aspect of intimacy with Jesus. Simply walking with Him. Knowing Him. Loving Him and being loved by Him.
I am grateful for this season. I have been slowed, and buried, and hidden…for no other reason than to learn more about the nature of Him Who Calls…about the support of the Solid Rock beneath the waters, and the shelter of the Solid Rock above….to learn more of the Love of my Lover…and in the process, to come to know myself in this season on the banks.
What about you? Are you in a similar season?
