Give your burdens to the LORD, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Psalm 55:22 NLT
“I can’t go back to church,” my friend confessed as we stood in my driveway. Before heading back to her car, we’d paused for an impromptu check-in. She was obviously wrestling with something. As I listened to her nervously explain, anticipating a negative reaction from me, I could tell she felt alone in her experience.
I asked her if she felt in limbo, in between places. She was relieved to hear words that resonated with her soul and experience.
A few years ago, I stood in someone else’s driveway listening as a couple shared with me that they couldn’t go back to their church. As they professed their convictions, I grieved their experience. You see, God let me know that this was going to happen. In what felt like a whisper from God’s Spirit, He gave me a “heads up” that more people would feel compelled to move on from their local churches, but He also let me know that I shouldn’t worry because His goodness would always prevail.
So when my friend awkwardly poured out her convictions and anxiety onto my driveway, I wasn’t shocked. This kind of impromptu confession had become a familiar experience. I had not only listened in driveways but also on sidewalks after events, at the end of business meetings, and in the corner during a social gathering.
The good news is that in the absence of certainty, God is fully present and magnified.
God is in this in-between place; He’s in our questions, our searching, our courageous moving and shifting. God is with us in the driveway as we grasp for assurance, direction, and protection.
Whether we meet in a church building on Sundays or a coffee shop on Wednesdays, we need time together to be vulnerable and to be validated. We also need to be in each other’s presence to stir life within one another. We need close proximity to snuff out isolation. Gathering brings definition to the in-between place and reminds us not to be afraid. Meeting together helps reconcile the limbo and calls it good!
Feeling uncertain about the way forward is okay. But being in limbo doesn’t mean you have to be alone.
I am in that limbo place right now and have been the last 11 months. It is such a hard place to be especially when my pastor doesn’t understand nor does he care to (I have talked to him but he definitely has distanced himself from me. I had left an abusive marriage of 18 years) this truly hurts when the church is supposed to be a place to go for healing and support. I know Jesus is with me and using this difficult time to strengthen my faith and to trust Him more. Your post today hit home with me! Thank you and God bless you!
Jenny,
Prayers God can lead you to a better church. One where people love you no matter what! Know that God loves & is right there beside you holding & hugging you. He understands your hurts.
Blessings
Thank you! I had been part of a church community for over 65 years…the last ten as an employee in pastoral care….imagine the heart break of having to decide it was time to separate myself from them. Too long of a story to share here; but when you dread going to church because you will have to listen to all the complaints about the leadership team and what they failed to do. It was beyond emotionally and spiritually draining. My relationship with God is stronger than ever, but I don’t think I will ever feel comfortable in an institutional church again. Too many rules set forth by man that aren’t followed by leadership. Praise God that He knows what is in my heart.
Thank you the perfect timing of this message \0/
What a wonderful devotion today. Just what I need. I am in limbo myself right now. I have been dealing with this for 7 years now and I keep praying to Jesus for help.Of course, we do not know what God’s plan for us is, but I still have hope that some of these burdens will be rectified. One good thing, right before I sat down to read your words today, I got a phone call from the place where I have been waiting to move to since last year. The community manager is picking me up tomorrow to go and pick out the apartment I wish to live in. Glory be to God as this place where I live now is a dump and they do not care about the residents. This is a brand new facility that is only 5 minutes away from where I am now. It has everything I thought that this place was supposed to have when I moved her 2+ years ago. We were definitely not told the truth before we signed the lease. This phone call has started my day with good news instead of something else that I had to deal with. So, I feel like I am starting to crawl out of limbo and I have with gratitude thanked Jesus for help. My Holy Spirit has been whispering to keep hoping as something good was coming. He has never failed me when I ask him. I have one more very serious burden that I have been suffering with for 7 years now, but I keep praying it will get better soon. I am 78 years old and took a bad fall with all the ice and snow so I am just now recovering from 2 weeks of staying in my apartment and getting better little by little. My heart is full of love for our Lord and I will not give up. My faith is unshakeable and they will not break me……….Betsy Basile
Betsy – so happy to hear about the new place! It will be a wonderful fresh start for you!
Hi Lynne..I was so happy to see your name today and thanks for the wishes you have for me. I am hoping that this will get me out of this dark season. The place is magnificent. Pretty many of the residents here are going to move there too. This place here is going to have a lot of rooms to fill, but it is so bad right now, I do not know where they are going to get them. The managing company here does not like or even know how to treat people our age. Have a great weekend………………Betsy
Betsy,
Congratulations on the new place. So happy for you. I know God is at work in your life. Prayers the other burdens you have will be lifted soon. Keep on trusting God!!
Blessings 🙂
I’m incredibly thankful for this devotional. It’s right on time as I wait for approval of credit history to start a position within the police commission.
God is telling me in other devotionals, knock and the door will be opened to me. Seeking and I will find. And now this devotional, confirming that He is in complete control and can be trusted .
Thank you for this post. I am in limbo — in an in-between, waiting season which I don’t know when will end 🙁 I’m also a generational breaker and an orphan so I don’t have anybody to share this stage of my life with me at this very moment. As I already surrendered my life to Him, I trust in His daily provisions as He sustains me until this season of my life ends..
So soothing & moving.
Love.
Jenny,
Prayers God can lead you to a better church. One where people love you no matter what! Know that God loves & is right there beside you holding & hugging you. He understands your hurts.
Blessings 🙂
Lucretia,
Life throws curve balls at us sometimes. We must trust God completely. Draw near to Jesus & He will carry our burdens. It’s been many years now but I had to put my aging dad in gero psych unit at hospital twice. First time was scary. Didn’t know what to expect. Jesus saw me through that trial. He heard every tear I cried & comforted me.
Blessings 🙂