Jeremiah 24:4 – The Rhythm of Waiting
Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah 24:4, New King James Version
"Linguists," relates Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way say parties in the conversation will tolerate silence for four seconds before interjecting anything, however unrelated."
Knowing this pressure, and knowing how crucial protecting time to think is, my friend Scott will punctuate his rhythms as a social studies teacher by deliberately taking a drink from his water bottle after he asks his students a question. This prevents him, he says, from following up with the answer too quickly and trampling his students' nascent answers.
I notice a related phenomenon in Jeremiah 24:4. In the prophet's inspired narrative thus far, entire conversations have taken place in one setting between him and the Almighty. Yet here, between Jeremiah's answer that he sees figs and any response from God, there is a noticeable pause. Jeremiah says the Word of the Lord came to him AGAIN in response to naming the figs.
Where do our minds go in the wait time God sovereignly inserts between particular awareness of His Presence? Did I hear the question right? Has sin muffle my ability to hear from God since the last time I did?: Things figs wasn't impressive enough for Him. To summon Him again, I need to come up with something more theological. Or, if our last response to Him, by His initiating grace, WAS theological and relatively profound, are we ready to repent of some variety of pride and go back to simple expression?
My what-if can tie itself in knots in waiting to hear from God. Some of these questions are decent ones to check off. As best we can, we do want to make sure we heard God aright last time. Did what we believe we heard lineup with what His Word reveals about His character? Was it in keeping with what He had been revealing about Himself heretofore? Certainly, sin CAN interfere with our ability to hear from God again, and our confession of that possibility can draw us closer to Him rather than habituating self-condemnation.
But the lurching back and forth as to whether our last answer or last act of ministry was grand enough or simple enough, quiet enough or loud enough, mature enough or child-like enough, I suspect such provocation of restless vacillation is mostly the devil's business. Without it, we might reflect on what God last said. Without it, we might reflect on the profound privilege that God actually spoke to us and heard our response. Without it, we might actually grow in grace between the times we are aware of God speaking to us, and nothing is more dangerous to the devil.
The word of the Lord, brothers and sisters, will come again. Wait your four seconds which can seem like four years. Continue to do what you know to do, whether active, joyous obedience, contemplation of His Word whether or not anything "pops" in new revelation, or genuinely appreciating what He is saying to friends in the faith even while we go through a quieter period in our relationship with Him ourselves.
Meanwhile, we call figs by their name and count this as both childspeak compared to God's forthcoming wisdom and as part of the noble, God-granted heritage that is ours from Adam naming Earth's objects. We speak and we wait. We contemplate and classify, and we wait on mysteries to be revealed. God is Master of all.
"Linguists," relates Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way say parties in the conversation will tolerate silence for four seconds before interjecting anything, however unrelated."
Knowing this pressure, and knowing how crucial protecting time to think is, my friend Scott will punctuate his rhythms as a social studies teacher by deliberately taking a drink from his water bottle after he asks his students a question. This prevents him, he says, from following up with the answer too quickly and trampling his students' nascent answers.
I notice a related phenomenon in Jeremiah 24:4. In the prophet's inspired narrative thus far, entire conversations have taken place in one setting between him and the Almighty. Yet here, between Jeremiah's answer that he sees figs and any response from God, there is a noticeable pause. Jeremiah says the Word of the Lord came to him AGAIN in response to naming the figs.
Where do our minds go in the wait time God sovereignly inserts between particular awareness of His Presence? Did I hear the question right? Has sin muffle my ability to hear from God since the last time I did?: Things figs wasn't impressive enough for Him. To summon Him again, I need to come up with something more theological. Or, if our last response to Him, by His initiating grace, WAS theological and relatively profound, are we ready to repent of some variety of pride and go back to simple expression?
My what-if can tie itself in knots in waiting to hear from God. Some of these questions are decent ones to check off. As best we can, we do want to make sure we heard God aright last time. Did what we believe we heard lineup with what His Word reveals about His character? Was it in keeping with what He had been revealing about Himself heretofore? Certainly, sin CAN interfere with our ability to hear from God again, and our confession of that possibility can draw us closer to Him rather than habituating self-condemnation.
But the lurching back and forth as to whether our last answer or last act of ministry was grand enough or simple enough, quiet enough or loud enough, mature enough or child-like enough, I suspect such provocation of restless vacillation is mostly the devil's business. Without it, we might reflect on what God last said. Without it, we might reflect on the profound privilege that God actually spoke to us and heard our response. Without it, we might actually grow in grace between the times we are aware of God speaking to us, and nothing is more dangerous to the devil.
The word of the Lord, brothers and sisters, will come again. Wait your four seconds which can seem like four years. Continue to do what you know to do, whether active, joyous obedience, contemplation of His Word whether or not anything "pops" in new revelation, or genuinely appreciating what He is saying to friends in the faith even while we go through a quieter period in our relationship with Him ourselves.
Meanwhile, we call figs by their name and count this as both childspeak compared to God's forthcoming wisdom and as part of the noble, God-granted heritage that is ours from Adam naming Earth's objects. We speak and we wait. We contemplate and classify, and we wait on mysteries to be revealed. God is Master of all.
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