When Life Hits Pause-Finding God in the Waiting - 05/05/2025

When Life Hits Pause—Finding God in the Waiting

Reflections from John 21:1–19 and Acts 9:1–20

Have you ever felt stuck?
Like you’re doing everything you know how to do—praying, working, trying your best—but nothing is changing?

Peter knew that feeling.
So did Saul.

After the resurrection, Peter doesn’t run to start a ministry or preach in the streets. He goes fishing. The one who once walked on water is now casting nets again. It’s not rebellion. It’s more like resignation. “I guess this is just who I am now.” Life has hit pause, and Peter doesn’t know what else to do.

Then there’s Saul—driven, determined, going full speed toward destruction. He has his plan and his mission, and then: the blinding light. Everything stops. For three days, Saul sits in darkness, waiting for clarity, unsure of what comes next.

Two very different stories.
One filled with silence. One filled with shock.
But both are about waiting.
And both are about what God does in the pause.

We don’t like to wait.
We live in a world of instant updates, express shipping, and microwave meals. But the spiritual life doesn’t run on our timeline. Often, the most important transformations happen not when we’re charging ahead, but when we’re forced to sit still.

In the stillness, Jesus appears.

To Peter, it’s at the end of a long night of fruitless effort. The risen Christ meets him on the beach with breakfast and a question: Do you love me?

To Saul, it’s in the middle of blindness and helplessness. A disciple named Ananias shows up and calls him “brother”—and everything changes.

God does not waste your waiting.

The pause may feel painful, but it can be holy.
The silence may feel empty, but it can be full of unseen grace.
In the middle of your “not yet,” Jesus is already at work.

Maybe you’re in a season of waiting right now. Waiting for an answer. Waiting for direction. Waiting for healing. Waiting for something to change.

Don’t give up.

You’re not forgotten.
You’re not alone.
You’re not stuck forever.

What are you waiting for?
Maybe… what’s waiting for you is Jesus.

---

Action Steps for the Week:

1. Name It: Identify one area of your life where you feel stuck or uncertain. Write it down.

2. Sit With It: Take 10 minutes of silence each day this week. Ask God to speak or simply sit in God’s presence with no agenda.

3. Share It: Talk to a trusted friend or spiritual mentor about what you're learning in this season. Invite them to pray with you.

---

Closing Prayer

God of the in-between,
I confess that I don’t like waiting. I want answers, direction, results—and I want them now. But I choose to trust you in the stillness. Teach me to wait well. Open my heart to your voice. Meet me in the quiet, and give me eyes to see that you are already moving—even when I cannot yet see the outcome. Amen.

Find a place to belong with people like you at Monroe UMC, 206 East Avenue, Monroe, Ohio. Join us on Sundays at 9:30 am or 11:00 am, on Facebook or YouTube. Visit our website, MonroeUMC.org.