Learning to Pause

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3: 10, NLT).

Some time back, before COVID shut everything down, a friend invited me to join her for a trip to the local gym where she climbs regularly.

Back in college, my basketball team had gone through a ropes course on campus as a team-building activity prior to the beginning of the season, but outside of that, my experience with climbing was very limited. Initially hesitant due to my lack of experience with this particular sport, I eventually agreed to try it out. With an attitude of excitement and readiness for trying something new, I showed up at the gym that evening for a climb.

After a brief tutorial about the process of climbing and receiving some assistance with donning my gear, including some important safety tips, I was ready to give things a go. At every climbing gym, routes are marked with specific colors to denote the level of difficulty. This allows climbers to select routes that are appropriate according to their level of skill and experience.

As this was my first attempt at climbing, I naturally started on the easiest level, blue. Once properly connected to my belay partner, I quickly scurried up the wall without much difficulty. My initial climb was relatively easy and fun. “On to the next,” I thought to myself.

After a brief break, while a couple of friends practiced their routes, it was my turn again. We had moved around a bit, and I found myself at the bottom of the wall, ready to attempt to climb the next level of difficulty, yellow. I remember mounting the wall with relative ease. Thinking I would have no trouble climbing this route, I attempted to move quickly up the wall and, before I knew it, I lost my footing and my grip and came off the wall. I made several more attempts, all with the same outcome before my grip was toast, and I had to take a break. I felt a little frustrated but was determined not to give up on conquering this particular route.

After a longer break to allow my grip strength to recover, my friend suggested trying another blue route. Just like before, I scurried up the wall without much trouble at all. This little boost was enough to give me the confidence to try the yellow route again. Before beginning my ascent, the second time around, I had a brief conversation with my friend. She suggested that I alter my strategy for climbing the route, as she believed this would help me be more successful. After this conversation, and knowing I have a tendency to move too quickly at times, I reminded myself of the importance of moving with intention rather than speed.

Keeping this in mind, I began to scale the yellow route once again, this time pausing a bit longer before making each move. This allowed me to set myself up for success and protect my body by keeping myself in a good position on the wall. More importantly, it also allowed me the opportunity to listen for the voice of my partner, who was giving feedback about the next best move while also providing encouragement throughout the climb. After a bit of a struggle, I made it successfully to the top! I was worn out, but I felt victorious.

While at the gym that evening, I gained a better understanding of the pause as it relates to climbing. As my friend and I later discussed, during this experience, the Lord provided revelation in regard to the pause as it relates to living life as a follower of Jesus.

With climbing, as is the case in life, a pause is often necessary in order to make the best decision and achieve the outcome we desire, which is to conquer the climb. Doing so allows us to focus and listen for instruction and encouragement while we determine our next best step for success. And, while the pause is important, we can’t allow ourselves to linger too long, as this contributes to the likelihood that we’ll get stuck or become so exhausted we are unable to continue making the ascent.

Though I was able to carry out that technique while on the climbing wall, I asked myself, “Am I doing this in my walk with the Lord, too?” It may not come as a surprise that I found myself answering, “No, not often enough.”

If you know me well at all, you know, as a friend likes to say, “I don’t let any grass grow under my feet.” This saying, as defined by dictionary.com, means “act now, don’t delay”1. When an idea comes to mind, whether it’s a home renovation project, taking on something new at work, making a new investment, or anything else that requires making a decision, I want to not only make the decision now but immediately step into action mode. Though this can be a good thing because it allows me to get things done, it has also been something that has tripped me up in the past.

When making an important decision, learning to pause has been something I have prayerfully worked on over the past couple of years. Often, I get so excited about something, or frustrated or angry or any other number of emotions, that I neglect to pause, listen and allow God space to speak into my heart regarding what He wants me to do.

If you flip to the pages of the Old Testament, you’ll find in 1 Samuel 3 the story of the Lord speaking to Samuel in the night. While initially confused, believing it was the voice of Eli he was hearing, Samuel eventually realized it was the Lord calling his name. In verse 10, Samuel responds to the prompting of the Lord in this way: And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

What a powerful reminder for me to call out to the Lord and let Him know that as a daughter and servant of the one true King, I am listening. However, without a proper pause, I would be unable to hear the voice of the Lord.

Though I am a “get ‘er done” type of girl, and probably always will be, learning this art of prayerful pause, while asking the Lord to speak, has grown my ability to make Holy Spirit-led decisions in ways that have impacted my life tremendously. I have big dreams. There are desires the Lord has placed on my heart that I pray daily will come to fruition, but as strong as those desires are, I ultimately want to live my life inside the will of God.

Over the past year and a half, I have made several decisions that have come only after pausing to listen for what the Lord is asking me to do and then responding in obedience. If it had been up to me, I likely would have moved forward with certain things at a time that was not in alignment with His.

Though I have at times struggled to be patient and wait while God works, learning to pause and be obedient to whatever the Lord says has been such a beautiful gift in my life. When I am faced with making an important decision, and I give the Lord the opportunity to speak to my heart regarding what He wants me to do, I am left with a peace that surpasses understanding, regardless of the outcome or impact of the decision I am making.

In life, as I did that day while on the climbing wall, when I pause and make the next move in step with the Lord rather than without Him, I am certain He will continue to move me along His path for my life toward a victorious ascent to the top that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to achieve.

Similarly, with climbing and with anything in life, sometimes we will pause, pray, make the best possible decision and still end up falling. Join me next week as I share about what it looks like when we trust the fall.

1. “Don’t Let the Grass Grow under One’s Feet.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Accessed January 29, 2021. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/don-t-let-the-grass-grow-under-one-s-feet.