“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says” ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,'” Isaiah 30:15

In quietness and trust is my strength.

I have been in a season of quietness, trusting the Lord with all that I am. I know He has been building my strength for what is to come. I know it.

I have not always been still in this quietness. I have struggled, argued, ignored, whined, even doubted. Yet each time, the Lord has been consistent to remind me of a simple plan – do what He has shown me, the rest will come.

Most people don’t say much to me. I don’t hear opinions of how I should be moving forward. I don’t receive much advice on what I should be doing. Most people just leave me alone. That also means I don’t receive encouragement that I’m doing alright. I don’t hear validation that I’m on the right path. I don’t hear much of anything. After all, no one wants to offend me or hurt me or overstep. So, I don’t hear from much of anyone.

All that silence just magnifies the loneliness I already feel after the death of my husband.

I still hear or read occassionally that someone is praying for me, but I don’t actually hear someone pray for or over me. This morning I did. I heard my name spoken aloud. I heard prayers of affirmation and encouragement spoken for me. I heard someone consider me and lift me up. And I cried. The sound of it was a balm to my parched and weary spirit.

I have had the TV on a lot these past two years. It’s been a distraction, but also a source of company – the illusion of company anyway. The noise has drown out some of the loneliness, but it’s also given me space to be quiet and trust God to heal and prepare me. I know it’s looked like I was doing nothing. If only one could see how frantically my mind works, you would be amazed at the jumbled mess of thoughts I’ve been working to unravel.

Things aren’t completely unraveled yet, but I can see more clearly and understand more of the path. I have far more moments of clarity and vision, and I feel ready to start making sense of some of those thoughts and plans. I may not want to make this journey alone, but I’m trusting that God is giving me the strength I need to do so anyway. And I’m praying for the one’s He’s bringing alongside me, too.

If you’re in a season of quietness, rest in it. Trust that God is doing a work in you. Quietness, stillness, does not necessarily equal inactivity or stagnancy. Let God work the way only He can. Let Him strengthen you for today, and tomorrow.

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