Patient Trust
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability?and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually?let them grow,
Let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don?t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be.
Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
Comments
23 responses to “Accept the Anxiety”
Beautiful. Love this and needed to hear it right now – thanks!
.-= Janet´s last blog ..My Sister Rosene – Bloom Where You Are Planted =-.
“and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.”
I love that. How often are we told to resist/get over anxiety? Maybe we shouldn’t be anxious about being in suspense, but how ever it’s worded – I love that idea.
Deep breath.
.-= Lex´s last blog ..Where the Wild Things Are! =-.
Anne, this is beautiful. Better than I could ever say. And so true. God once said to me ” I’m going to get you comfortable with discomfort”. Accepting the anxiety is key in this “above” process. Thanks for sharing. It’s a keeper.
Oh man did I need that for the season I am in!
Thanks and have a good weekend!
See you Wednesday!!
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..Virgin Islands here I come! =-.
Great stuff!
Very peaceful, believing, and loving&freeing.
That’s excellent.
.-= Jason´s last blog ..Can God really restore anyone? =-.
Retweet Worthy, for sure.
Hello My Name is Lauresa Hollenbeck. I have been smokefree for 36 days. I desire to reach a point where I completely “Accept my Anxiety” and “FROG.” [Fully Rely On God.]
.-= Reese´s last blog ..Chan, Francis =-.
Hey girl! Wanted to say hello to you and that I loved this! It is beautiful. I hope you are well and that we run into another sooner than later. Keeping an eye out for your new book.
Love,
Melissa Fitzpatrick
p.s. i meant ‘one another’. since you’re an author and all. much love.
Thanks for clarifying. I was sooo judging you! :)
Those last two lines own me . . .
“Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.”
What a great reminder of God’s guiding presence.
.-= Andy´s last blog ..A Video For Your Weekend =-.
Beautiful words.
My church is studying Acts, and the pastor spoke about the very first thing Jesus commanded the disciples to do before he ascended. He told them to WAIT. The pastor said sometimes we hate to wait because it feels like we’re doing nothing. We’re so anxious to get on with the rest of the story because we feel like the action is always in the next chapter. But, actually, sometimes waiting is simply obeying God.
The quote you broadcast up there helps solidify what my pastor said. Sometimes I need to be okay with waiting and just being.
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..Good Writing: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years =-.
one of my favorite poems. I posted it on my blog not too long ago! As I tried to explain to a friend today, the waiting is part of the work God is doing in our lives, although I agree to not enjoying it!
.-= Jan Owen´s last blog ..Facing Change =-.
Perfect words for what I’m waiting on today…
Thanks!
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Housesitting Fun =-.
Perfect timing, Anne. Thank you. I do not wait well! One of my jobs in previous years was in advertising and our department did voice overs; so everyone had a panic button and we were told to push it when the deadline was closs to have everything done for the Clients. So, not getting so anxious and looking several times at the panic button, we met out “hot” deadlines for media! At the same time if we didn’t wait, it was costly!
.-= Carol´s last blog ..Walk in Agreement! =-.
Accept the anxiety, patiently embrace the transformative Christ inside you, but always struggle against sin.
Without that struggle, there is good reason for the anxiety.
.-= Soul Crushed´s last blog ..Depression & The Gospel ? Part II =-.
It’s interesting that you post this…. I was thinking the other day about how we aren’t supposed to feel complete on our own, without God. There is always a load of suspense revolving around our inability to complete ourselves.
I wish I trusted God to work as slow or fast as He wants.
.-= evan blackerby´s last blog ..I judge people. =-.
Have been enjoying your writing for some time now. My wife just finished MCD and loved it. We were in Franklin recently visiting from So Cal & were hoping to bump into you (we spent a little too much time @Nanacakes) and say hi. My wife attended Lifework with Randy & Spense. Hope to make it back to Franklin soon as its one of our favorite places.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..I Would Rather ____ Than Do Laundry. =-.
Loved this and so needed to read it today.
Thanks!
.-= Janel ´s last blog ..Weekend Mix =-.
GIVE ME POETRY or GIVE ME DEATH!!!
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..LOVE> =-.
Oh my. What a familar place to be. I have been reading your blog for a while and do enjoy your thoughts and words. This, right here, though, this is our humanity, huh? This place we are in, to some degree, all the time. And it’s perfect and holy and awful and beautiful and frustrating and so completely full.
I pray for the remembering of this more often.
This was awesome!!!!! :)
.-= Lauren Kelly´s last blog ..Songs that make you pull out the hair brush! =-.
Whoa… timely. Thanks.
.-= Graham´s last blog ..Good Morning? Good Afternoon? =-.