“God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.”

“Romans Chapter 2 verse 4  ERV

If you have read the last two posts, you’ll now be up to date on this one. If you haven’t, please read Parts 1 and 2 before reading this so you will understand what this last part is all about. God is patient and kind, He is long suffering and loves us so much that He patiently waits for us.
I know of the times that I was so busy with God to listen to His constant guidance, I wound up in deep circumstances spiritually.

The last part of the “Please Be Still” series is the most important because we don’t ever want to get in this situation but we do…

I can hear the gentle voice of God telling me, “Please be Still or I will give you a time out.”  Usually when I have heard this loving voice that is still patiently drawing me back to Him, it is because I am pulling a ‘Jonah’ and do not want to listen to what God is trying to teach or guide me through.
As I look back now, these were the times that God was doing His best to speak to me so that I would not make a big blunder.

I remember the time that I could have sworn (for lack of a better word) I heard my mom tell me to let go of her hand and run across a very busy street. I was just under 4 years of age. We were going across the street, my mom had Arthritis and would always tell me to hold her hand. I was not one of those quiet, passive kids who listened very well.

I was so active that in school, the teacher I had in 1st grade had to give in and just withdraw herself from being my teacher. From the first week of first grade, I would leave her class and go to my old teacher’s Kindergarten class because I liked her better.
All this to say that looking back, I remember the first couple of times I let go of my mom’s hand and would trek my way a few paces further and further away from her. With each proud and independent action I took of letting go of the safety of my mom’s protective guidance, I went further away from her. I didn’t know I was trying to do everything my way, but my little heart was showing its wickedness even then.
I ended up in the hospital unable to move my little body for a long time, the thing that I hated most was standing still and now, I was stuck in a hospital crib unable to move. To this day, I feel pain all over my body which permeates intensely when rain is coming.
So too I now look back and see that God is the same way as my mom was, except He has a strong grip. Yet He will gently lead us (Isaiah chapter 40 verse 11) and will never grab our hands so tight that we can’t let go. We have the free will to do whatever we want and the decisions we make, will last a life time, whether those decisions are good or bad.

When God intervenes and has placed me in a time out moment, it is to have me truly seek and pray for guidance, just like the hospital crib-bed when I was convalescing due to being run over. That decision for me to let go of my mom’s hand and run across the street when she told me to hold her hand tighter, was the wrong decision. It was a be still moment that I should have been more in tune with.

Thinking back on all the times that I have done things on my own, makes me appreciate the times that I do look for God for guidance. As I get older I have noticed I seek Him out more and more because I understand the dangers of letting go of God’s hand and trying to do things my way. This is where I know that I am truly sitting still and holding on to God for dear life.