--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s…" description: "\"“When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s not your time yet, our entire bodies rebel, legs kicking and flailing like some overturned dung beetle certain..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg" --- # When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s not your time yet… ![“When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s not your time yet, our entire bodies rebel, legs kicking and flailing like some overturned dung beetle certain that if we try hard enough we might be able to gain a little traction on our own” quote by Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg) > ““When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s not your time yet, our entire bodies rebel, legs kicking and flailing like some overturned dung beetle certain that if we try hard enough we might be able to gain a little traction on our own”” [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When divine timing seems delayed, the body resists, yet persistent effort may eventually create momentum, suggesting patience and perseverance amid uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Patience and effort can create momentum despite resistance. Key Takeaway Stay patient and keep trying. Themes faith patience perseverance bodymind resistance Mood hopeful determined Type spiritual motivational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - spiritual practice - goal setting sessions Key Concepts spiritual timing psychological resilience goal pursuit Questions to Reflect On - What does “hold up” mean for you? - How do you balance patience with action? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex life challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-says/) [Impatience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impatience/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Pleasing god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasing-god/) [Pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray/) [Pray Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray-time-738980/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Try hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-hard/) [Wait Pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-pray-752585/) ## Related quotes > [“To wait and to pray, that next time I will find the strength to make my own choices, not rely on God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wade/to-wait-and-to-pray-that-next-time-i-will-find-the-strength-to-make/) [Tobias Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wade/) > [Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-you-act-listen-before-you-react-think-before-you-spend-earn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before you talk, listen. Before you read, think. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukhjit-singh-multani/before-you-talk-listen-before-you-read-think-before-you-criticize/) [Sukhjit Singh Multani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukhjit-singh-multani/) > [“As we wait and pray, God weaves his story and creates a wonder. Instead of drifting between comedy (denial) and tragedy (reality), we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-miller/as-we-wait-and-pray-god-weaves-his-story-and-creates-a-wonder-instead/) [Paul E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-miller/) > [Darkness comes. 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Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/before-you-speak-listen-before-you-write-think-before-you-spend-earn/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Before u speak listen, before u write think, before u spend earn, before u judge wait, before u pray forgive, before u quit try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/before-u-speak-listen-before-u-write-think-before-u-spend-earn-before/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Before you talk, listen. Before you react, think. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-you-talk-listen-before-you-react-think-before-you-criticize/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Before you act, listen. Before you read, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hemmingway/before-you-act-listen-before-you-read-think-before-you-spend-earn/) [Ernst Hemmingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hemmingway/) > [Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/before-you-speak-listen-before-you-write-think-before-you-spend-earn-3/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Before I step in the Octagon, I pray one last time and take a huge deep breath, and then I'm home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-jedrzejczyk/before-i-step-in-the-octagon-i-pray-one-last-time-and-take-a-huge/) [Joanna Jedrzejczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-jedrzejczyk/) > [“It’s fairly simple. When can we pray? All the time. When should we praise God? Whenever we pray.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/it-s-fairly-simple-when-can-we-pray-all-the-time-when-should-we/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [Although I myself don't go to church or synagogue, I do, whether it's superstition or whatever, pray every time I get on a plane.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/although-i-myself-don-t-go-to-church-or-synagogue-i-do-whether-it-s/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) ## More by Heather Choate Davis > [“In our post-everything culture, obey has become a four-letter word. Obeying is for wimps. Obeying is for people who didn’t do well enough on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/in-our-post-everything-culture-obey-has-become-a-four-letter-word/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) > [“Our own egos are so fragile we cannot bear to give our lives to the raising of children only to have them become ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/our-own-egos-are-so-fragile-we-cannot-bear-to-give-our-lives-to-the/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) > [“America is a young country, young and brash and prone to errors. Like teenagers. 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We want to tell our friends with cancer that we will pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/we-love-christmas-presents-but-not-christ-easter-baskets-but-not/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) > [“We fluff them and fold them and nudge them and enhance them and bind them and break them and embellish them beyond measure; then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/we-fluff-them-and-fold-them-and-nudge-them-and-enhance-them-and-bind/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) > [“Even if we’ve never been inside a synagogue or a mosque or a church—even if we have, and vowed never to go back—deep down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/even-if-we-ve-never-been-inside-a-synagogue-or-a-mosque-or-a-church/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) > [“The attempt to prevent our kids from struggling for fear it might scar their permanent records is, instead, scarring them for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/the-attempt-to-prevent-our-kids-from-struggling-for-fear-it-might/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) > [“Did you notice there aren’t any average kids anymore—only Gifted and Disposable?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/did-you-notice-there-aren-t-any-average-kids-anymore-only-gifted-and/) [Heather Choate Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) [Explore all 10 Heather Choate Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/) ## More Impatience quotes > [“The drivers here are horrible. And by horrible, I mean they don't realize I have someplace to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-drivers-here-are-horrible-and-by-horrible-i-mean-they-don-t/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [God is never late, we're just impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/god-is-never-late-we-re-just-impatient/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That is why faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience… Those who hope in Christ can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/that-is-why-faith-wherever-it-develops-into-hope-causes-not-rest-but/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [Advent is patience it's how God has made us a people of promise, in a world of impatience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/advent-is-patience-it-s-how-god-has-made-us-a-people-of-promise-in-a/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Patience in planning & Impatience in execution.. Always creates Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/patience-in-planning-impatience-in-execution-always-creates-miracles/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive. We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. If we allow impatience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/when-we-define-our-happiness-by-some-point-in-the-future-it-will/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“Transform your impatience into commitment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ela-crain/transform-your-impatience-into-commitment/) [Ela Crain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ela-crain/) > [“The impatience you felt before kissing someone you liked wasn't nearly as bad as the impatience you felt afterward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/the-impatience-you-felt-before-kissing-someone-you-liked-wasn-t/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/learn-the-art-of-patience-apply-discipline-to-your-thoughts-when-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-less-you-associate-with-some-people-the-more-your-life-will/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [Thought I'd give impatience a try. Got a little enveloped in time. Cuz I watch you come and watch you go and it don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-ready-set/thought-i-d-give-impatience-a-try-got-a-little-enveloped-in-time-cuz/) [The Ready Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-ready-set/) > [What you're missing is that the path itself changes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-you-re-missing-is-that-the-path-itself-changes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cure for impatience with the fulfillment of God's timetable is to believe His promises, obey His will, and leave the results to Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/the-cure-for-impatience-with-the-fulfillment-of-god-s-timetable-is-to/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) [Browse all 470 Impatience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impatience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s not your time yet, our entire bodies rebel, legs kicking and flailing like some overturned dung beetle certain that if we try hard enough we might be able to gain a little traction on our own”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Heather Choate Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not-your-time-yet-our-entire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Impatience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not-your-time-yet-our-entire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/heather-choate-davis-41075_impatience_when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not_2323808.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When God says hold up, wait, pray, it’s not your time yet, our entire bodies rebel, legs kicking and…” — Heather Choate Davis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Heather Choate Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-choate-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When God says hold up, wait,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not-your-time-yet-our-entire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-choate-davis/when-god-says-hold-up-wait-pray-it-s-not-your-time-yet-our-entire/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```