The Holding Pattern
How was your Christmas? Are you looking forward to 2022? What did you most like about 2021? What was particularly difficult for you this past year? What are you hoping for in 2022?
I often find the week between Christmas and New Year's Day to be interesting days when I’m concluding stuff to close out the year and also thinking about possibilities for the upcoming year. In some respects, this week feels like a holding pattern before the new year launches.
When I think about the idea of a holding pattern, it reminds me of airplanes that have to wait until they can land. A holding pattern also makes me think about the waiting that we do before: an appointment, getting a job, acceptance into a college / university, a decision for our profession and heaps more.
I suspect that you’ve experienced more than a few holding patterns and I think that it’s important for us to consider some stuff that could be helpful when we find ourselves in the holding pattern season.
Let’s look at some Bible examples of holding patterns to help us find some practical wisdom. People in the Bible who experienced holding patterns include:
Elisha was in a holding pattern when he knew that Elijah would be leaving him.
Paul, in Acts, experienced a holding pattern for three days when he was struck blind on the Damascus road and waiting for someone to pray for him and recover his sight.
Perhaps Moses was in a holding pattern, unbeknownst to him, after he killed the Egyptian slave master and before the burning bush experience, all of it lasting forty years.
Jacob lived in a holding pattern when he worked for Laban his uncle, until he could return to his homeland.
David survived a holding pattern of sorts when he was in continual flight mode from Saul chasing him to put him to death. David was anointed to be king, but he experienced a long holding pattern for more than 10 years.
The Bible shows a lot of people who went through seasons in their lives that were pauses until they could move forward. I’m grateful that we can read about these individuals because there are some lessons we can learn and pitfalls we could avoid from looking at these Bible examples. Here are some do’s and don’ts from the Bible that we can use for holding patterns in our lives.
When we are in a holding pattern do:
What’s immediately in front of you. Moses herded sheep in the wilderness and this was probably helpful to lead the Israelites in the desert for 40 years, when he was released from his holding pattern at the burning bush.
Lean into God. David demonstrates honest dialogue and struggles with God in the Psalms he wrote during his holding pattern of running from Saul.
Good work. During Jacob’s holding pattern, he worked for Laban who greatly prospered from Jacob’s employment.
When we are in a holding pattern do not:
Lash out or hurt people because of your struggles, anger, fears, frustrations, uncertainties, etc. In their holding patterns, we don’t read about Moses beating his sheep, David yelling at his followers, Jacob fighting with his cousins, etc.
Detach from God. During Paul’s three day holding pattern when he was blind and waiting in Damascus, we read that he fasted and prayed during these days.
Make drastic decisions or give into rash behaviors. Although David was tempted to kill Saul and could have easily done so, he checked himself and prioritized God’s anointing on Saul.
When we let God help us during a holding pattern, there can be lots of great outcomes that include strengthening our character, growing our trust in God, watching God do the impossible, and deepening our integrity, to name a few things. Happy New Year!