Beauty in the Hallway

The world strives to make us feel like the waiting seasons are the worst places we can be. That if we aren't doing this or that, we are failing. But I think the hallways of life are the places God finds most beautiful, not because they're easy, but because of the beauty those places bring. A lot of people (including me), struggle with the hallway. It's the place before change, a place of resting, waiting. In a culture that tells you to be anywhere but there, it's difficult to enjoy those seasons. The seasons of waiting, wondering, resting, and growing. But God sees those moments, not as unnecessary, but as a requirement for your good and His glory. The hallway is where He shapes, grows, and challenges us. In those moments, He prepares us for the doors, whether they are open or closed. It's a place for us to rest and lean into God most, because without Him, we end up down the wrong door, different hallway, or remain stuck. The hallway is where He reminds us that He is with us. We have no where else to turn. We are forced to slow down and look at Him for reminders, guidance, and encouragement. It's where He prepares us for what's to come. If we rush getting out of the hallway by busting down doors, we are walking blindly and ill prepared into what's ahead.

It was when Saul was traveling to Damascus that he was blinded and Jesus spoke to Him. Not as he was persecuting or imprisoning Christians, but on his way to do those things. It was in the hallway and it was in the hallway God prepared Saul for that door to be closed and opened the door to new life. It was when Peter was fishing that God showed up and after a whole night of catching nothing, He told Peter to let down his nets and caught more fish than they could handle. It was in the hallway that Peter was called to something greater. God makes the ordinary, extraordinary. We often think that in the waiting, in the hallways, there's nothing God can do with that part. Contrarily, the waiting is when God works on us most. Yes, the doors hold many lessons too, but it's the process of getting there that affects us too. It is NOT easy to embrace the hallways of life. We want to go through, moving door to door to door, but there's a hallway we must walk through first to get there. And I promise, there will be a day that you will miss the waiting, miss the hallway. Which is hard to believe in the moment, because the hallways, while they may be the most beautiful to God, may be the hardest parts of our walk for us. It's in the hallways where we can choose to trust God or choose to trust ourselves more. The hallway is when we can rest the most, but also requires heavy decisions.

Let us not go until He says. Let us embrace the waiting, because there's a lot He's preparing before He opens or closes the doors. He is faithful, even in the hallways. Often times, we think because something is not happening in the time we want it to, or expected it to, He is no longer faithful, but that's not true. Our circumstances do not determine His faithfulness, He is always faithful. And just because He doesn't do something when or how we want it, does not make Him any less faithful. Sometimes (and the majority of the time) when He doesn't give us what we want or when we want it, that's Him being faithful. Because if He always gave us what we wanted, He wouldn't be a good Provider, Protector, Father... He wouldn't be good, and therefore, He wouldn't be God. And just the fact that He is with us in the hallway, proves His faithfulness. He's with us in the hallway, with us when doors open, to the time they close. He doesn't break His promises, that's what makes Him faithful. When He says He is good, He is, no matter our feelings. When He says He is able, gracious, merciful, kind, loving, just, He is, no matter what our hearts say. He is always faithful, yes, even in the hallway, even in the waiting. The hallways are not easy, because they make us uncomfortable. But let us embrace the hallways. Rest in the hallways, follow where He guides, and rejoice in each new season- whether its a season of open or closed doors.

Maybe He's put you in the hallway, in the waiting, because you were losing sight of Him. Maybe you needed rest, change, growth. Maybe you needed all of that and more. The hallway is not where we'd choose to be, but it's where we need to be. He sees what's coming. He knows what doors, hurdles, and challenges lie ahead. Be in the hallway while you can, He knows why He put you there. That should be enough to keep you satisfied. He's doing something, even in the hallway.