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Have you ever felt guilty for resting? Like if you're not constantly producing, you're somehow falling behind in faith or life. In this episode, we'll explore the truth that God often does his deepest work when we're still. And we'll talk about how to trust him when we feel like nothing is happening. Hi, I'm Crystal Storms, author, artist, surface pattern designer, and your companion on this journey to finding rest in Christ. Welcome to the Heart Rust Podcast, Episode 41. If you're feeling weary, distracted, or just in need of a sacred pause, you're in the right place. Each episode we open God's Word and our hearts to discover the peace that comes when we live closely connected to Jesus. Let's settle in and draw close to his heart together. There are seasons in life where the clock seems to tick a little slower, and the silence from heaven feels a little louder. I remember a time in my life when I was caught in the painful cycle of praying and waiting. For a long time, my husband and I were waiting for a baby, but during that season, our marriage went through a period of deep struggle for a variety of reasons. My prayer shifted from wanting a child to begging for restoration and reconciliation. I prayed that God would bring us back together, and in his grace he did. Once our marriage was held, that familiar longing returned. I started praying for a baby all over again. And again I waited. Months turned into years. Finally, exhausted after an emotional roller coaster, I offered up a radical, honest prayer. God, please either give me a baby or take away this desire from my heart. God didn't answer with a physical birth. Instead, he did something completely unexpected in the quiet. Slowly, gently, he replaced that intense desire for a child with a profound surrender to his will for my life. It wasn't the ending I originally mapped out, but it was exactly the healing my soul needed. I wonder what you're waiting for today. Maybe you aren't waiting for a cradle. Maybe you're waiting for a medical report, a breakthrough in your career, a restored relationship, or just a sign that your current circumstances are going to change. When the waiting rooms of life stretch on, it's so easy to internalize the pressure of our achievement-driven culture. We start to believe that if we aren't constantly fixing, doing, or producing, we're falling behind. We carry this heavy burden of productivity pressure, treating stillness like it's a structural failure in our faith. We look at the lack of visible progress and think that nothing is happening. But I want to remind you of a beautiful truth today. Your stillness doesn't hinder God's purposes, it actually makes room for them. When we look at scripture, we see a foundational pattern. Extended preparation always precedes public ministry. Waiting is never a sign of God's absence, and it's never wasted time. Think about Moses. He spent forty years in the desert, apparently refining his leadership style, before he ever led the Exodus. Think about the Apostle Paul. He waited three years after his dramatic conversion experience before beginning his public ministry. Even Jesus lived in relative obscurity for thirty years, mastering relational realities and growing in wisdom before he ever stepped into his public earthly ministry. Moses, Paul, and Jesus all waited in obscurity before stepping into their callings. Their waiting periods weren't passive. They were times when God was preparing them for spiritual advancement. And as we look at their lives, we can discover three powerful points about how God works in the waiting. One, God's timetable prioritizes character over accomplishment. Character development always precedes ministry, which is a principle that runs completely counter to our achievement-driven culture. Moses felt an intense urgency to deliver Israel when he was forty years old. Yet God invested another forty years building character into his life in the desert. Similarly, Paul spent years waiting and was even imprisoned on false charges despite his burning desire to advance the gospel. God was dealing with their characters so they could handle what lay ahead. And for exhausted achievers, this completely reframes your waiting. You aren't stalled, you're being shaped for what's coming next. Two, waiting reveals what you're actually trusting. When God makes a promise, the path to fulfillment often takes detours and years of apparent delay. Yet each delay is actually another step toward fulfillment. God is never in a hurry, but we usually are. God wants to ensure we are faithful in the hidden, boring places. Whether we feel trapped like Joseph, whether we are serving faithfully in an unfulfilling role like David, or whether we feel frustrated like Paul when obstacles block our God-given dreams. The waiting period is a mirror. It exposes whether your faith rests securely on God's character, or it merely rests on achieving your own vision. It exposes whether your faith rests securely on God's good character, or if it merely rests on achieving your own vision. 3. Who you become matters more than what you accomplish. Who you become while waiting is just as important as what you are waiting for. Times of waiting are often the exact moments when God deals with the deep issues in our hearts. This invites us to release the tyranny of the timeline and discover God's deeper work in our souls. Isaiah 4031 stands as a beautiful anchor for this truth. It says, Those who wait for the Lord renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Notice how this passage reframes waiting from passivity into absolute empowerment. When waiting for God to act becomes an intentional trust in Him rather than human means, everything changes. We can interpret waiting as weakness or stalling, but Isaiah reveals the exact opposite. Those who cease striving in their own strength discover God's renewable power flowing into them. God is not absence during the silence, he is actively strengthening, refining, and preparing you. The promise isn't that the journey becomes easier, but that you gain the supernatural capacity to endure it without exhaustion. Lamentations 3, 25 through 26 affirms this by saying, The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord. Waiting itself becomes the place where God's work unfolds most powerfully. Sweet friend, what does this mean for you this week? It means you can officially release the tyranny of the timeline. You are right on schedule, his schedule, and he knows precisely what he's doing in your soul. Imagine what it would feel like to lay down the exhausting weight of self-reliance. Imagine waking up tomorrow knowing that you don't have to force the doors open in your own strength because God is already handling the details in the hidden places. Here is my gentle invitation for you. Choose to believe that your stillness isn't wasted time. Take just one hour this week to rest intentionally. Step away from your tasks, clear your schedule, and ask God to meet you in that quiet space. Let that hour be an act of holy obedience, a physical declaration that you trust Him with the outcomes. Believe that your stillness doesn't hinder God's purposes, it makes room for them. And as you go about your days, hold fast to this truth. When you are still, God is still working. Hidden seasons are always holy seasons. Each episode, I want to offer you a question to journal about or simply contemplate. Where have you mistaken God's silence for his absence? Thank you for joining me for episode 41 of the Heart Rest Podcast. My prayer is that today's encouragement about how God works in the waiting helps you create a rhythm of rest in your life. Remember, life may be complicated, but true rest comes when we keep first things first and release the rest into his hands. If you want to dive deeper, visit me at crystalstorms.com where I share resources and more to help you find rest in Christ. And if this episode spoke to your heart, would you share it with a friend who has been feeling a little behind lately? Send her a quick text and remind her that she's right where she needs to be. And as we close, I want to leave you with a comforting quote from John Piper. God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them. Until next time, may you rest close to his heart and live from his peace.