Pause

As Administrative Assistants, we operate within some pretty tight timelines. We understand the value of planning, preparing, and having contingency plans A, B & C! We build time margins in to meetings, set phone alarms to signal wrap-ups, and have become masters at the as-we-walk-to-the-next-thing meetings. Our days are well-oiled machines.

Until they aren’t!

How do we respond when the copier has a conniption, the caterer arrives with meals for 10 not 20, or someone calls with an important prayer need right before an important meeting? 

We pause.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and
saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18

It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Pausing when everything around us clamors for a response. Right. Now! While we may work well under pressure, we don’t make solid decisions under duress. It is important to pause, take a breath, and ask the Lord for His voice on the matter. He is close to you and He has a plan!

But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

OK, here’s the thing…we were never meant to do the Lord’s work without the Lord. Yes, we are called. Yes, we are equipped. And, yes, we are human. The Lord has given us strengths and skills to be utilized in this work…in conjunction with His grace and power. When things take a wrong turn, He always has a plan to get things back on the right track.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

We need to be open to the possibility of things looking differently than we planned. That can be difficult when we have poured so much of our time and talents into something. I get it. The good news, though, is that the Lord takes that and creates even more beauty from it. It is never wasted.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or
take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 51:10-12

When you have a day that seems to fall apart at the seams, I pray that you also see the fingerprints of the Lord’s hands at work on your behalf. I pray that you witness the impossible because of the Lord’s love for you. I hope that see beauty come from ashes, and joy replace despair. When you’ve come to the end of yourself, I pray that you have a front row seat to the magnificence of the Lord. A fresh understanding of the deep love our Father has for you. Not because of what you can do for Him, but because He simply – fully – deeply – loves you. Always and forever. As you pause and quiet yourself before the Almighty, I pray that you hear Him whisper…

You are adored.