Please Hold During the Silence
Strategies for Waiting Well.
When I was 19 and in nursing school, I would set my alarm at 4:30am every day to get up and pray before my 5:30am clinical.
I was desperate to hear God's voice.
It wasn’t out of obligation, but just a longing.
During that season, I was battling some pretty fierce anxieties and found relief during my times of worship and prayer- but it was more than just seeking relief.
I wanted to be directed, to be close to His heart. I wanted to hear His voice.
I remember getting so frustrated because He seemed to be silent. I didn’t understand why my friends were getting all these crazy prophetic words and I was not hearing anything.
I wondered if maybe I was doing something wrong.
Maybe there was some hidden sin that was keeping me from hearing his voice. Fear and performance started creeping into that place of intimacy.
One day, in my irritation, I was waiting on hold with my cell phone company and the automated message kept repeating “please hold during the silence” and I knew the Lord was speaking to me.
What do I mean by that?
Well think about it this way: from a psychological/neurological perspective, when we are afraid, blood stops flowing to the prefrontal cortex and shifts its focus to the amygdala- the area of fight or flight where our focus is sheerly on survival.
We stop forward thinking, logical thinking and critical problem solving- this happens in the natural.
I went back to my room and opened my Bible to the story of Noah- and all of a sudden it clicked: this was a preparation season.
All of this time spent in prayer and the word wasn’t wasted- not by a long shot. The lord was building a super highway in my mind and spirit to where I would KNOW his presence and KNOW his word.
I didn’t know then that this preparation season would quite literally be the life-saving boat I needed to carry me through some very dark seasons ahead.
If you’re in a season where the lord seems quiet, I would encourage you to lean in and trust that He is preparing you as you seek Him. He is restoring while you wait. He is grafting his word and spirit into you for the breakthrough ahead and it will not be in vain. He is building a fervency in your spirit to push through until you get to the clearing.
“Let us not grow weary in doing what is good, for you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.” - Galatians 6:9
“Be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord.” - Psalms 31:24
For more encouragement and strategies to push through anxiety and fear, check out the Freedom From Fear & Anxiety Workshop & Workbook Bundle HERE
To your wellness,
Andrea Jones
