"Remain in the same place or position over a period of time. To reside, stay, live, lodge, tarry, or dwell."

This sounds equal parts refreshing and terrifying. Refreshing assuming one is remaining in this same place over time because it is a great place to be. Terrifying if it’s not such a lovely place and I am forced to remain there.

I am not much for sitting still. At any given moment I have multiple lists running through my head of all the things that need to get done. Once I sit, my mind has me moving onto the next thing almost immediately.

Can anyone relate?

I had a colleague once who was quite witty. She told me this story from her childhood that still makes me laugh. She was little, perhaps in elementary school, and dealing with something seemingly difficult for a young child. In response, her mother told her, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” To which her little self said, “Well, clearly God doesn’t know me well, because I can’t handle this!”

Can you relate? I can.

It’s only been a few years since I began to recognize my own privilege and learn what it means to be an anti-racist. And my goodness, do I know I have so very much more to uproot and to unlearn and relearn.

But this I am certain of, the depth of the evil that is racism can only be pushed back by a supernatural God.

We say we want revival. We gather our people to pray for our nation. We pray for healing. We pray for reconciliation. We pray for God to move His mighty hand and get all the glory.

But I fear we have skipped the very thing that activates the hand of God.

This couldn’t be real.  If it is real, it won’t last.  There is no way we’ll make it all the way to the end. 

A prayer was being answered yet I was convinced the bottom was going to drop out and we’d never see it come to fruition. 

A few weeks later I was on a women’s retreat. We were given the opportunity to spend time alone. Just me and my God. As I journaled how I was feeling and began praying, the Holy Spirit started to reveal the deep rooted lie that had taken hold.

If he had taken the long way, would she have known she is seen? If he followed cultural norms and expectations—“our people don’t go there”—would she believe? 

If he feared how he might be received as he walked through the territory in which he was not welcome, would he have conversed with her?