One Line at a Time

Week Twenty-Six | Fifty-Two 7.12.21

Just the other day, I was sharing (rather tearfully) with one of my closest friends about a really hard decision I’d made. A decision that left me feeling both confusion and peace, sadness and expectancy.

And then my friend spoke a reassuring word, one re-centering line to me, “There is a season for everything.”

Someone else has been speaking another “one liner” to me, pretty consistently actually. His whispers can be so loud and clear, and yet how easily I dismiss them. Because sometimes I’m afraid, sometimes I’m too busy, and other times I’m just plain stubborn.

Of course, this is nothing new to God or for His people. Over and over again in the Bible, we read the accounts of men, women, families, and nations on the merry-go-rounds of fear, distraction, and pride. And over and over again, God’s voice can be found teaching, correcting, and loving them back to Him ~ even if that means letting them go their own wilderness way for a bit.

Like here, in Isaiah 28…

“God has told his people, ‘Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.’

But they would not listen. So the Lord will spell out his message for them again,

one line at a time, one line at a time,

a little here, and a little there,

so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.”

Seems a little harsh, right? But God disciplines us in order to draw us close. To strip away the things that may puff us up and pull us down, in order to humble our hearts, hush our heads, and Heaven-fix our gaze.

And sometimes, it’s not necessarily pride standing in the way, rather a portion that is actually very good ~ but not best.

For

this

season.

And this is where I’ve found myself wandering around, overthinking certain decisions, to the point of mental exhaustion. My family has been in an all-consuming season of grief, loss, and crisis. Yet, it’s also been one of overwhelming grace where

weakness is becoming power,

old is becoming new,

and confusion is becoming clarifying.

Twenty-six weeks ago, I began a journey of writing through the Word in a year. A journey that has brought me right to the middle, a little late, but I’m here by grit and grace nonetheless.

These last six-and-a-half months have been a JOY for me, but it’s time to pause. To listen. To pivot.

Oh I will keep reading and writing and delighting in Him, just not here in this way. But finish this I will, because I’m certain He has called me to it…in due season.

But I can’t deny that He’s patiently spelling out a message to my heart, one line at a time. One good-hard line at a time. A little here, a little there.

And I don’t want to miss Him

So I’m putting my “pen” away on this little project for now, but I’m picking it up over there for another, two-years in the making (stay tuned:). I’ve had to say some hard no’s to a few good yes’s, in order to step into the rest-of these summer days. 

His way may not always be ours, but the burden really can be light and free.

“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives … great wisdom.” - ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭28:29‬