This Space Intentionally Left Blank

CINDY’S NOTE: I recently wrote this post for my personal blog. In my recent update video on this site, I mentioned not wanted to run ahead of God and fill in the blank spaces in our lives, so I thought it was fitting to post it here as well.

Right smack in the middle of a huge document filled with a bazillion words and tons of legalese, was an unexpected sight. A huge blank space. It looked like a mistake. The creator of the document must have anticipated that response because there was one simple line written at the top to ensure no one filled in that space in with the wrong thing at the wrong time:

“This space intentionally left blank.”

There it was in black and white. The blank space wasn’t a mistake—it was intentional. So intentional that someone made an extra effort to make sure it wasn’t misinterpreted. There was purpose for that space, but that purpose was known by the originator of the document—not the one holding it.

That spoke so loudly to my heart because I’ve recently encountered a lot of my own blank spaces. Places where the flow of my life’s “document” abruptly came to a stop. Places where it looked like something should be filled in but there was absolutely nothing there. More than a pause or a simple space or two, often we find ourselves staring at a an entire blank page where we expected clear instructions.

But the good news is that the “Originator” of the document knows exactly why the space has been left blank. Furthermore, He knows exactly how and when it will be filled in.

That knowledge gives me peace. It gives me the grace I need to sit in the mystery.  If He hasn’t seen fit to fill in the blanks, then neither will I.

Currently, we’ve found ourselves in a time of global transition and upheaval. There is a lot of temptation to run ahead of God and try to fill in the blanks. There is a lot of stress and anxiety in the unknowing. But what if instead of being anxious we leaned into the words of a Psalm written during another time of large-scale upheaval:

In His perfect time.

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” -Isaiah 64:4 NIV