Wait longer and linger. People of today may say this is impossible in our busy rat-race paced lifestyles. Our calendars are full of appointments starting from sun up to sun down. Now with modern technology we are able to schedule events even in the dark of dawn or dusk. The question is, “What are we missing?”
Do we ignore the signs God placed in the Bible and chalk them up to a different time and excuse ourselves from the reality that God is the original architect of waiting longer and lingering? “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3 NIV). God didn’t rest because He was tired, He rested to demonstrate a pattern of living that included fellowship with Him outside of work.
Waiting longer and lingering in God’s presence creates an atmosphere of PEACE. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. God has been calling His loved ones into a place of lingering longer since day seven of creation, and reiterates that call in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” God’s very existence should entice us to draw nearer to Him and experience His overwhelming omnipresence.
It is interesting to find that individuals showcased in the Bible that waited and lingered longer had an extra portion of peace, power, and purpose. Joshua in the book of Exodus is one of those individuals. Joshua was the loyal attendant, military commander, and designated successor of Moses. This great responsibility was because in Exodus 33:11 we see the character and practice of Joshua. “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” Joshua went on to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River, into the Promised Land and conquer the “giants” and secure what God had promised. Warring victory can only come from lingering longer in God’s presence before we tackle the struggles that face us.
Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 lingered longer in the temple, crying and despairing for a child that humanly was impossible because of her infertility. “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk” (1 Samuel 1:10, 12-13 NIV). Hannah’s extended time lingering longer in the presence of the LORD miraculously opened her womb and she became pregnant and gave birth to Samuel. Samuel’s purpose was showcased in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. He was a mighty man of God for his time that was birthed from his mother’s prayers.
In the New Testament (Luke 10:38-42), the sisters Mary and Martha (the sisters of Lazarus) represent the modern pattern of busyness. Jesus had come to spend time with the family and Martha was busy with the food and house preparations to make sure everything was wonderful for her guests. Jesus was talking to the guests. Mary was sitting at His feet, waiting and lingering longer at the tremendous words spilling out to the emotionally and spiritually hungry individuals in His presence. Martha was appalled that Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and not helping her in the kitchen. Martha even confronts Jesus and asks Him to make Mary come and help her. Jesus’ reply, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” More than our physical busyness, God desires our sitting at His (Jesus’) feet lingering longer.
Finally, Jesus also demonstrated as God did on that seventh day of creation, the need to linger longer and enjoy the fellowship God intended outside of work. This fellowship refreshed, rejuvenated, and empowered Jesus to complete His earthly ministry all the way to the cross. It is recorded at least nine times in the Bible that Jesus retreated from the crowds to be alone with God.
Since God and Jesus both found it important to pull away from the busyness of work to enjoy fellowship of God’s presence to refresh, rejuvenate, and empower the realignment with the peace, power, and purpose of God, shouldn’t we also do the same? Let’s not count lingering longer in God’s presence as wasted time. It is essential time to our physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is time that builds our “Full Armor of God” to withstand the attacks of the enemy (Ephesians 16:10-18). God has provided, through His and Jesus’ examples, that lingering longer in His presence is vital to our successful navigation of the modern day stressors.
