A Divine Pause
As I am sitting here on my balcony, sipping my morning coffee, overlooking and taking in the eerily peaceful surroundings of my woodland view, I sensed the Lord’s still small voice. I had been seeking Him, like countless others, on the meaning of this unholy and tragic event that had suddenly come upon and besieged this nation and its inhabitants.
The answer finally came after weeks of asking, praying, pressing in; and finally letting go and resting in the release and confidence that, while I do not know many things, and when answers don’t come—the one thing I know that I know that I know to be true is that God is in control. God either causes, stops, or allows things to happen; and He does so for our good, whether it looks or feels that way at the time.
Our Blessed Assurance provides comfort in His Word, scribing: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:8-9). And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
My spirit is at peace with the truth that God did not cause this. So, if He did not cause it, then why did He not stop it? Since He did not stop it, why did He allow it? And if God allowed it, for what ‘higher ways’? What good? My spirit was quickened to the revelation that this was not a punishment, but rather a pause—a Divine Pause. An intermission prepared and packaged with every lost opportunity, every shoulda-woulda coulda, every connection not made, moment misused, point escaped, and road not taken, so that we could have a Divine Do-over.
I said “Wow, God, this is good!” He said, “write it as your next article.” I replied, “okay, I will make some notes and do it next week.” He retorted “do it now, today.” As one who honors the Sabbath (Shabbat), I felt the need to remind my Omniscient (All-Knowing), Omnipotent (All-Powerful), and Omnipresent (Ever-Present) Father: “Um, Daddy, you do realize this is the Sabbath, right?” To which I felt a Holy Head Shake and Sovereign Sigh in the Heavenly Realm, with a reminder back: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). I sensed the Lord of the Sabbath saying, “don’t get all religious on me, Matthew.” Yes, Sir. On it. One article coming right up!
Our Divine Daddy gave me a dream some nights ago, as He often speaks to many of us through dreams and visions. In that dream, I was in New Mexico, and I was trying to get to a realtor’s office. I did not have a navigation system in the car I had rented, and the realtor was trying to give me directions to her office over the phone, without really knowing where I was at; although I was trying to explain my bearings to her. Regardless, she seemed convinced that she knew the way, while I was not as confident in her confidence. To make a long story short, as I need to leave certain details out that are between God and me, I sensed the message was one of guarding against being led blindly, or by someone who is sight impaired (figuratively speaking, of course).
This real estate agent, I believe, represented a part of myself that was causing me to not see as clearly as I needed to see all that God had prepared for me during this time. New Mexico symbolizes “It grows as it Goes, Land of Enchantment, The Colorful State, Yucca Flower” (© 2015. Dr. Barbie Breathitt), and the Yucca Flower represents “a fresh new positive outlook on life as you work through your present situation” (IBID).
I believe that we can be driven by our fears, doubts, discouragement, disappointments, uncertainties, regrets, past perspectives and encounters, and worldly worries to the point where we miss things along the way, sight-impaired or even blinded to those opportunities and moments that are placed and positioned there to help us grow, heal, and receive what we need to be better equipped and to enlarge our capacity.
God is for each and every one of us—if we allow Him to be. Our Wonderful Way-Maker longs to go before us to right every wrong, straighten every crooked path, and smooth out every rough place (Isaiah 45:2). God is not a man who should lie, nor the son of man who needs to repent (Numbers 23:19). God does not play favorites (Acts 10:34), and longs to be our Faithful Forever Father, our Divine Doting Daddy, and our Precious Papa.
Each of us has a choice to make during this trying time, as we stand at the four-way intersection of this moment, determining which perspective to travel on: we can either stay stuck in ourselves, be led impaired or blindly by our un-surrendered soul or fleshly nature; or take the perspective of the Yucca Flower, and pursue the fresh new positive outlook which causes us to then step into this God-given gift of this Divine Pause, and unwrap everything put in place to redeem us, make us whole, make us better than new, and cause us to step into our Divine Destiny, and Kingdom Eternal purpose, with nothing missing, nothing lacking, and no sorrow added.
May God comfort, refresh, guide, keep, and bless you always.
With warmest regards,
Matthew
www.SuperNaturalLifeCoach.com
© 2020. Matthew Gargano, unless where other credits apply.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
