“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” — Psalm 37:7
Do you love to ski? Do you love the mountains and all the people? Do you love the feel of the snow beneath you, the sky above you, and the thrill of the speed, moguls, and trees ahead of you? It’s amazing! Most people that ski would agree with all of that.
However, the majority of those that ski hate the idea of having to sit on a chair lift and then wait for however long it takes to get to the top of the mountain. The process, they would say, is grueling. Really, they just want to hurry up and get up there so they can start doing what they came to the mountain to do. Ski!
Actually, I believe chair lifts are pretty cool. You get the tranquility (with the exception of the random screams and noises associated with major wipeouts). You get to see the beautiful mountain terrain, the sky, and all of His glorious creation. The time in the chair offers you a chance to consider what’s about to happen. It also helps you remember what just happened. There are runs and trails you can’t wait to do again when you get off the chair lift. And there are others that you would rather not have to go down and through again. But the chair lift is where it all happens. It’s the anticipation, the opportunity for a fresh perspective, and the chance to be still and rest.
You have to love the chair lifts.
The Leader Who Hates Waiting
If you’re a leader, you probably identified more with the skier who wants to skip the lift than the one who enjoys it. That’s not a knock on you. It’s just the reality of how most leaders are wired. You’re built to move, to decide, to act, to produce. Sitting still feels unproductive. Waiting feels like wasted time. The chair lift feels like the obstacle between you and the thing you came here to do.
I’ve seen this pattern in leaders more times than I can count. The pastor who can’t sit in a quiet room without checking his phone. The ministry leader who fills every gap in her schedule with another meeting. The team leader who interprets a slow season as something that needs to be fixed rather than something God might be using on purpose. We have a really hard time being still, and we’ve convinced ourselves that our busyness is the same as faithfulness.
It’s not.
Some of the most damaging decisions in leadership are made by people who refused to wait. They moved too fast on a hire because the vacancy made them uncomfortable. They launched too early because the silence felt unbearable. They spoke too soon in a conflict because sitting with the tension was harder than forcing a resolution. In every one of those cases, a little time on the chair lift would have changed the outcome.
What the Chair Lift Actually Offers
Think about what happens on a chair lift. You’re not standing still. You’re being carried. There’s a difference. You’re still moving toward the top, but you’re not the one doing the work. The lift is. All you have to do is sit, stay on, and pay attention to what’s around you.
That’s a picture of what God is doing in the waiting seasons of your leadership. He’s not idle. He’s carrying you. The progress may not look like what you expected. The pace may feel painfully slow. But you’re still ascending. Things are still happening. You’re just not the one driving.
And while you’re on that lift, there’s so much available to you if you’ll receive it. Rest. You’re not going to get it on the slopes. You only get it in the chair. Perspective. When you’re flying down the mountain at full speed, you can’t see the whole trail. But from the chair lift, you can see runs you’ve already taken and terrain that’s coming. You can evaluate what worked and what didn’t. You can prepare for what’s next. Reflection. The chair lift is where you process. Where the lessons from the last run actually have time to settle in and become wisdom. Where you hear God’s voice in the quiet instead of being drowned out by the wind.
None of that happens when you’re moving at full speed. It only happens in the waiting.
Chosen Stillness vs. Forced Stillness
Do you struggle with just being still? There is something about being forced to be still that is hard for some. Whatever it takes, God will at some point make us be still. Here’s a hint: it’s better if you choose willfully to be still and wait rather than God orchestrating it for you.
That line deserves to sit with you for a minute. Because God has a way of putting leaders on the chair lift whether they like it or not. Sometimes it looks like an illness that sidelines you. Sometimes it’s a door that closes when you were sure it would open. Sometimes it’s a season where nothing seems to be happening no matter how hard you push. And in those moments, the leader who has never practiced chosen stillness will come unraveled.
Sure, you could trek up the mountain by foot so you don’t have to wait for the pesky chair lift. But really, does that one need any further explanation? You’ll get to the top exhausted, depleted, and in no shape to navigate the run ahead of you. That’s what happens when leaders refuse to wait and try to force their way to the next thing in their own strength. You arrive, but you arrive empty.
The leaders who thrive over the long haul are the ones who have learned to love the chair lift. Not just tolerate it. Love it. They’ve discovered that the waiting isn’t wasted time. It’s preparation time. It’s the season where God is doing the deep work that will make the next run possible. And they’ve learned to trust that the lift is going somewhere, even when they can’t see the top from where they’re sitting.
Rest, Recover, Receive, Reflect, Ready
What if we had that same perspective when it came to life? What if we saw the waiting time, right in the middle of all our experiences (our runs and trails and trees), as an opportunity to rest, recover, receive, reflect, and get ready for the next go-round? Would it be worth it?
This principle is more than a good idea. It comes highly recommended by God Himself.
Psalm 145 reminds us that the Lord upholds all who are falling and lifts up all who are bowed down. He’s not asking you to be still because He’s forgotten about you. He’s asking you to be still because He’s working on your behalf. Lamentations 3:25–26 says it plainly: the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. And Isaiah 40:31 paints the picture we all know but sometimes forget: those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
Renew. Not deplete. Not stagnate. Renew. The waiting is where the strength comes from. Not the skiing.
For leaders, this changes everything about how you view the in-between seasons. The gap between one assignment and the next isn’t dead space. It’s chair lift space. The quiet after a hard season isn’t emptiness. It’s recovery. The pause before a major decision isn’t indecision. It’s wisdom. And the stillness God is inviting you into right now, whatever that looks like in your life, isn’t punishment. It’s preparation.
Next Steps for the Leader Who Needs to Love the Chair Lift
Identify where you’re trying to hike instead of ride. Where in your leadership are you forcing progress that God hasn’t initiated? Where are you filling silence with activity because the waiting makes you uncomfortable? Name it. Then ask God whether this is a season to push forward or a season to sit back and let Him carry you.
Build stillness into your schedule before God builds it in for you. Block time this week that has no agenda, no deliverable, no productivity goal. Fifteen minutes of silence before the day starts. A walk with no podcast in your ears. A lunch break where you actually sit and think instead of multitasking. These aren’t luxuries. They’re chair lifts. And your leadership depends on them.
Use the chair lift to reflect on your last run. What just happened in your last season of leadership? What worked? What didn’t? What did you learn about yourself, about God, about the people you lead? If you’ve been moving too fast to process those lessons, you’re carrying unprocessed experience into the next season, and that’s a recipe for repeating the same mistakes.
Practice the five R’s in your current season. Rest: stop striving for a moment. Recover: let the weariness heal. Receive: open your hands to what God wants to give you in the quiet. Reflect: look at where you’ve been and where He’s taking you. Ready: prepare your heart for what’s next rather than rushing into it unprepared. This is what the chair lift is for.
Read and sit with these passages this week. Psalm 145:14–19. Lamentations 3:25–26. Isaiah 40:31. Don’t speed-read them. Don’t check them off your list. Let them be your chair lift. Read them slowly, let them settle, and ask God what He’s saying to you in this season of waiting.
Being still and waiting can seem extremely difficult and frustrating. Maybe seeing it as a chair lift experience can change it up some. The hope is that we are able to appreciate and benefit from our slow ascent up the mountain. Much can be accomplished here… if you let it.
So think about it. And enjoy your time on the chair lift.