When We are Forced to Stop and Rest
Stop signs are a gift. Well, they are if we see them and obey them. Stop signs can save your life and the lives of others too. Yes, we’re in a hurry, we must get to where we’re going because what we have to do is so essential…because we are so essential! Or so we think. The Stop sign says, “You’ll get there but you’re not on this road alone. Be mindful of others and go at a pace that makes sense.” That’s a lot to get on a sign, so I’m glad we settled for ‘Stop.’
Sometimes, God stops us. That doesn’t mean he’s displeased with the direction we’re going. It does mean he has a certain pace at which he prefers we travel, the pace of grace. And sometimes, it means that we need reminding that its not about us and our importance but him and his glory.
Many years ago, the poet John Milton wrote these lines about his frustration at his diminishing eyesight - and with that reality, his diminishing ability to serve God, at least as he thought he should. “On his Blindness” reveals the powerful lesson that Milton learned by being stopped.
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”
John Milton - On His Blindness
"They also serve who only stand and wait."
There are very busy angels - traveling "o'er Land and Ocean without rest." But Milton, pondering how late in life his blindness hinders him in his desire to serve God fully, observes other angels, the seraphs standing either side of the throne of God. They do not travel about but simply 'stand and wait'. Such is their service. These fire beings who antiphonally worship and adore God, declaring he is 'Holy, Holy, Holy' are serving simply in their waiting.
Perhaps today you feel hindered. Perhaps shut down by medical treatment, or hindered by a lack of funding for a project; perhaps family tensions occupy your energy or the realities of what COVID is still doing have closed some doors to the travel 'necessary' to the important work you have to do.
When we find ourselves shut in and shut down, remember Milton's observation about the Seraphim - 'they also serve who only stand and wait.' He knew that God does not 'need' our work or even the gifts which he graciously gave us. Let us bear the yoke to which Jesus invites us, even when that means doing so much less than we thought we were supposed to do. Let us stand and wait, and then join the angels and archangels to cry, 'Holy!' Waiting at a Stop sign is worship too.