Many people who have attended a church service have probably heard the line, “We won’t tarry long.” It’s spoken during the invitation to approach the alter. We feel relief hearing, “won’t tarry long” because we, as a society, are uncomfortable tarrying.

Merriam Webster defines tarrying as “to linger in expectation: wait: to abide or stay in or at a place”. It’s no wonder we are uncomfortable tarrying because our business-driven world demands productivity now, results yesterday, and reachability 24/7. The ability to tarry comes from a different mindset, a different kingdom entirely.

People who have incubated eggs know it’s a long process. We are tempted to think that the eggs are merely sitting there dormant and weeks later out pops a fully formed chick. That’s not true, though. So much is happening behind the scenes. Every day that chick is developing and forming inside its little shell of protection. This reminds me of the infinitive to tarry. To wait, to abide, to linger in expectation, to stay in a certain place.

During the long wait of incubation, there is a way to check the fertility or the progress of the egg. It’s called candling. When we candle an egg, we hold a light to the shell. This allows us to see the inner contents. If the egg is fertile, there will be a dark shape within and perhaps we will even see veins. This is a neat experiment. I was awed when my husband and I candled two of our quail eggs this past week. There were tiny shadowy shapes in them. What a testament, what proof of their progression.

Sometimes we are tempted to feel like we’re in a place where nothing is happening. We might feel uncomfortable, but if God has called us to the place of tarrying, He is working beneath the surface. We aren’t accustomed to waiting, abiding, or lingering in expectation, but when we release our earthly expectations and trust God to work in those times, He absolutely does.

We can’t hold a candle or a light to ourselves and see our progress during a time of tarrying. Maybe a friend or loved one shares something they have seen God working in us, or maybe God gives us a little insight to His work in us.

However, we might not get this candling experience and just see the proof after the tarrying is over. Our quail eggs are on “lock down”, which means, in a few days we hope to have hatched, healthy chicks, but no checking them or handling then between now and then.

Sometimes at the end of our tarrying, God’s work within us becomes obvious. Perhaps then, He prompts us to move or we have a deeper insight or we can forgive or we can accept hard things. We might not see the spiritual progression in steps, but we can see His works and power clearly after the tarrying. His activity doesn’t come from things being easy or comfortable.

As lovers of a holy God, who sees infinitely, we might just benefit from getting comfortable in tarrying.

(Maybe this is instance is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me. Tabitha didn’t know about the miracle to come, and she had no part in choosing to be part of it. From more of an unfocused, helicopter view, this could tarrying.)

I think of the account in Acts about Tabitha. She died and was laid in room while life went on for her friends. Our tarrying probably won’t look like that, but for her and those around her, unbeknownst to them, this was a time of tarrying, – waiting, abiding/staying in a place. From everyone’s’ perspective, her body lay dormant but truly it was lingering in expectation because God had plans.

So many people were impacted and believed in the power and truth of Jesus because of what happened to Tabitha. Yes, this experience was for her because it happened to her, but it was also for everyone who heard about it. Her testimony had power to change deeply held family and religious traditions.

We need to remember as Matthew West sings in the song My Story, “My story, Your glory. My pain, Your purpose. My mess, Your message.” We live our lives in a singular and personal way. But our experiences and our testimonies are meant to be shared with a wide, wide range to proclaim God’s goodness.

“36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and

seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.” Acts 9:36-42