waiting

Isaiah 30:18-21

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help. As soon as He hears, He will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Waiting is not easy for me. it doesn't seem productive. But God's word tells us we are "blessed" when we wait for Him.  Now,  more than ever I know I need to be patient and give myself time to pray, study, and journal. 

If there is anyone out there who has been reading this blog, you probably know I've been MIA for sometime now.  For the past couple years I have been (by choice) totally immersed in a work situation, that now in retrospect looks like it was a hamster wheel.  And I was the hamster.

Thankfully, I am out of the cage that I willingly kept myself in, and am out in open space.  A little frightening actually.  But also, relieved and kind of excited about my next adventure.  I just know I don't want another cage and wheel scenario.

I love that part of the verse that talks about the voice behind giving step by step direction.  This in some ways does imply movement.  There is no point in giving direction if your just standing still. How I picture this verse is being blind folded and starting to walk.  But being incredibly attentive in listening for His voice. The Lord won't let us walk into danger, but we do have to trust Him, and believe Him at His word, that He will give the necessary direction when needed.   

This waiting period sort of reminds me of artisan bread baking.  To start baking artisan bread you first need a culture.  That involves mixing some flour and water together and letting it just sit for a few days or up to a week to get some life going.  Once you see some activity you start feeding it fresh flour and water everyday. Taking out most of the mixture, leaving a little behind.Then it can properly process the new addition. Once there is a consistent pattern of a rise and fall each day, it is ready to be used as the leaven, that gives the bread it's signature volume.

I think I'm in that "culture" stage of development.  I need to be seeking the Lord and being quiet enough that I can hear His voice saying "This is the way; walk in it."

I'm excited to see where this next adventure might take me.

S

P.S.

I did start a culture today.  So hopefully some beautiful, crusty, delicious loaves are in my near future.