It is Movement

This week, I asked a few from my March class to sit with the invitation I posted March 22, 2026—not to analyze it, but to notice what stirred within them.   What has come back is not surface response.

It is movement.

Different… personal… yet deeply connected.

Here is what we are beginning to hear—All persons who responded will only be recognized by the abbreviation of their names. 

 T.D says: This week God has taken me on a journey of reflection back to January 2016.  I started having medical problems with my blood count and iron being extremely low and doctors couldn’t determine why.  It took three years (April 2019) for them to determine the problem was due to what was diagnosed as Lupus.  I remember in January 2026 praying to God and saying “I am coming to you like the woman who had an issue of blood. While I can’t physically touch you as she did, you can breathe on me or speak a word and I will be well.  I don’t know how or when you are going to show doctors what is causing the problem, but I am going to be crazy enough to trust you.”  Three years later when the lupus diagnosis was revealed, I was okay.  The reason I was okay is because God had taken me on journey where a primary care doctor at that time told me the symptoms looked like leukemia.  To me leukemia was the worst case.  During the three years before I received the lupus diagnosis, doctors kept telling me to keep doing what I was doing (exercising, eating right, avoid stress).  Today no one would know that I have lupus from looking at me.  It hit me on Friday 3/27/26 why God had the medical situation from 2016 to come back to my remembrance.   It is because I trusted God like never before in 2016.  I couldn’t see what God was doing, , my faith in him caused me to believe He was working on my behalf.  God is telling me to trust him now like I did in 2026.  I can’t see what He is doing now.  Just as I trusted Him in 2016, I’m going to trust Him now, knowing that what He does will work for my good in His timing.

This - is a journey of trust remembered.

What surfaced was not just a thought, but a return—a return to a season where faith had to stand without visible answers. A place where trust was not theoretical, but lived… carried… held over time.

And now, that same call is present again:   Trust Me now… like you trusted Me then.

Even when you cannot see.
Even when you do not yet know.

AZ Comment: This opening invitation reminds me of the passage “be still and know that I am God.”

To “be still” is not as easy as it sounds. Although we may long to be near and led by God, we must decrease as He increases.  Decreasing has to be intentional, deliberate, sacrificial, and continuous. The journey of transformation is exciting and weary at times. Our soul longs to stay connected with our creator and in alignment with His will for our lives. I’m here for this journey…which will take a lifetime. This reminds me of the song that say, “breathe on me, oh Lord, both day and night.” Thank you for the reminder not to be in a hurry. This is not about getting more information, but about being more aware, aligned and connected to our Creator. The more we connect, the more we lose our appetite for the things of this world. The more we slow down, listen, and connect; the more we walk in peace no matter our circumstances. Lord, make us willing.

A call to stillness—and the cost of it.

To “be still” is not passive. It requires intention. Surrender. A willingness to decrease so that something greater may increase.

There is a recognition here:

That this journey is both beautiful and demanding…
Exciting… yet stretching.

And yet, something deeper is being awakened—

A desire to remain connected… aligned… and present with God,
even if it means letting go of lesser appetites.

-N.S. says: Living in a world where everything is always moving in a rapid pace and having everything at our disposal in seconds/minutes, I see slowing down long enough to make the shift as a huge challenge. 

Yet, I realize there are benefits taking this the slower pathway. For me and the way I am wired this posses a question: How discipline will I have to be to do the work? How will I begin to slow down enough not to get ahead. 

Keeping in mind that “soul work” is “slow work,” and that’s okay. I must take a deep breath and enjoy the journey. 

We see: An honest wrestling with pace and discipline.

There is a clear awareness of the world we live in—fast, immediate, always moving.

And then comes the question:

How do I slow down… when everything in me is used to speeding up?

This is not resistance…
It is recognition.

And within that recognition is a quiet acceptance:

That soul work is slow work.
And that… is okay.

B.P. says:  There truly is so much more to developing and staying in right relationship with God. Because this is not a journey to a destination, it would make sense to slow down. The journey is not to be rushed because God delights Himself in us spending time with Him and in His Word. In Psalm 37:23, we are reminded that “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” God wants us to live in abundance…..fully awake, attentive and responsive to the Divine movement within. 

In this we see and hear: A widening understanding of the journey itself.

There is a shift here—from seeing the journey as something to complete,
to recognizing it as something to live within.

Not rushed… not driven…
But walked—step by step—with God who is attentive to every detail.

And within that awareness comes a beautiful realization:

That this life is meant to be lived awake… attentive… responsive
to the Divine movement within.

We will see you next week - Pastor Polk