Holding the Tension

In seasons where we find ourselves

hard pressed on every side, 

 prayer feels much like an exercise in

"holding the tension."

There is the place where we are

and this place we want to be.

There is the way we thought it would be

and there are the circumstances before us.

The only thing we know is that

we are not in control.

There is darkness, doubt and confusion.

There will be light, faith and understanding.

But not yet.

And we somehow know this is the place

that God has us and He is with us.

His Spirit hovers over dark places.

And His voice breaks through darkness.

A dark fog draped over the deep 

while God’s spirit-wind hovered 

over the surface of the empty waters. 

Then the voice of God  pierced the darkness.

Genesis 1:2

As we stand in tension, in pain, in loss, 

we are more willing to be silent.

We are more willing to receive His grace

and listen for His voice.

His voice, the sound of grace, asks for our

doubts, fear and insecurities.

It pushes back our self-made borders.

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;

He brought me into a spacious place.

Psalm 118:5

When hard-pressed, we cry out to the Lord.

His relentless love meets us and 

brings us into a place that's larger 
than the one we just left.

We can get comfortable with small lives;

there is nothing small about the love of God.

He brought me out into a spacious place;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Psalm 18:19

There is this beautiful tension of

darkness and light, of doubt and faith,

of confusion and understanding.

It is called Holy Mystery.

In these places of darkness,

I hear Him hovering.

And trust that all that He is 
working behind the scenes,

working all things together for good.

They all realized they were 

in a place of Holy Mystery and 

that God was at work among them.

Luke 7:16