when God does nothing

I’ve observed something recently.  The first time I saw it was when my daughter and her two friends sang the Star Spangled Banner at graduation.  In between some of the phrases they had a significant pause that was striking.  The quiet spaces created anticipation for the soul-stirring harmony to follow. 

I saw it again a few days later, as I watched an exceptional dancer perform on TV.  The judges commented that he wasn’t afraid to create pauses in his performance –still moments when his body stopped moving –moments when nothing happened. 

I used to teach piano lessons, and one of the most difficult lessons I had to teach my beginner students was to pay attention to the rests.  It’s easy to play the music, but it takes an artistic soul to know how valuable the quiet spots are –the lifting of the fingers and allowing quiet for a moment.  It requires self control.   

I always tell my students, the rests seem uncomfortably long, but they’re of equal importance to the notes you play. 

I wonder if the Creator of rhythm and song shows his masterful art most powerfully when he allows a pause before sweeping in with movement that makes us weep with the beauty of it. 

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits…”  (Psalm 130:5  NIV) 

Wait for it.   

Wait for it. 

I think it’s called faith –what we do when the music and dancing pauses for a time. 

What if, instead of despairing when it seems God is, as Philip Yancey describes, “sitting on his hands”, we hold our breath in anticipation instead?