Waiting Well

God has given me the refining difficulty of waiting. He has done this many times, and some of those times, I will be the first to admit, I was a pitiful example of faithful waiting. I fought the process, the pain, the change. I was angry at God and refused to bend in my attitude and perspective. But He remains my faithful redeemer and He keeps giving me the blessed opportunity to wait on Him. I think He allows us the chance to do it over and over, because He is making us more like Jesus with each opportunity to trust Him. 

So, in this most recent time of waiting, I made the decision that I wanted to do it well.  

How does someone wait well? 

I think waiting well begins with the mentality that it is not a “do-nothing” wait. When the Bible tells us to wait on the Lord, it does not mean that we stand still, lifeless, or frozen. It simply means that we resolve not to go before Him leaning on our own understanding. We cannot get ahead of God. We trust Him. We believe that His will for our lives will work out for our good and His glory, even when we don’t understand the circumstances, or the timing seems all wrong, or it feels like we are about to be defeated.  

So, what can we do?  

Here are eight things I found that have made my waiting seasons more fruitful and honoring to the Lord. 

Worship in the Waiting

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” — (Psalm 42:11) 

The enemy wants you angry at God. Our anger or resentment of our situation can make it very hard for us to lift our eyes and our worship to the Lord. But when we exercise our worship and honor him with our thoughts and our lips, it brings such peace and security. There is no better healing balm to the spirit than the worship of our Savior in the dark nights and low valleys. Turn on the sermon podcast, turn on the praise music in the car, sing and dance before the Lord in your kitchen. Exalt His name above all and worship Him in your waiting. 

Fellowship in the Waiting

^“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” — (Matthew 18:20)

This does not mean a girl’s night out. I am talking about fruitful fellowship will Jesus loving, life-giving, encouragers that will pray with you, laugh with you, cry with you, and then pray with you some more. They know when to let you talk, and they know when to wipe your tears away and speak life to you. And, if you are feeling far from God in your waiting, inviting these people to do life alongside you, is, in fact, inviting Jesus in. We can sense God in His people. We see His care and love for us in their acts of kindness. We see His face and hear His voice in a very tangible way through godly friendships. Open yourself up to this type of fellowship during your waiting.   

Serve in the waiting

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”  — (Galatians 5:12)

You don’t have to look very far to see hurting and suffering in the lives of people all around you. But it is so easy and our natural tendency to be self-focused in times of waiting. We turn all our energy toward our own suffering and pain. If anything, this makes the time seem to drag on forever. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Time flies when you are having fun”? Well let’s alter that a bit to say “Time flies when you are serving others”. I promise that if you look to others’ needs above your own, if you wake up wanting to minister to someone else, you will find the time passing and your days being spent in fulfilling and fruitful ways by blessing God’s people. Not to mention, acts of service and an others-focused mindset is a natural mood booster and anti-depressant. 

Pray in the Waiting

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  — (Hebrews 4:16)

Oh, how many verses there are on praying in the waiting, in the trouble, in the darkness! The Lord hears the prayers of the righteous. On our knees is where we truly do all our battle, dear friends. Pray as you go to bed and as you rise in the morning. In every breath, ask for His wisdom and guidance. Pray without ceasing. A healthy and active prayer life builds trust and intimacy with our creator. It keeps us dependent and lowly before Him. It reminds us how huge He is. And… in the face of difficulty and waiting, a huge warrior King is exactly what we need to be reminded of. Don’t like praying out loud? Use a journal to jot down your prayers. I enjoy writing prayers as a way of keeping my focus and it is also a wonderful way to look back and see how my prayers have been answered. If the overwhelming sorrows of waiting are weighing you down, and I know they are, just lay them at Jesus’ feet in prayer. It is too much for you to carry. 

Study in the Waiting

“Your statutes are wonderful;  therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant,  longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me,  as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word.”  — (Psalm 119:123-133)

Nothing brings hope and light in the darkness of a waiting season like the words of Scripture. God can speak so loudly in our quiet and intentional times studying His word. Search the scriptures for those stories of the faithful, the ones who waited well and those that took matters into their own hands. See for yourself the hardship and blessing that comes with the different approaches. Memorize the verses that tell of our faithful God that rescues. Meditate on what the Lord is teaching you and let the words of God change your heart in the waiting season. Making the deposit of Bible study today will allow you to draw on its truth on those days when you need it most. A heart engaged in scripture always produces hope and great strength for a weary, waiting soul. 

Rest in the Waiting

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  — (Isaiah 40:10) 

Waiting can feel like a punishment but it is a gift of grace. A waiting season can be a holy pause, a reset, a perspective and trust initiator. The Lord promises in the above verses to renew our strength and to increase our power once we have hoped in Him and put the weight of our weariness on His shoulders. You may be wishing you could fast forward through this season, but if you knew what God knows, you would agree with Him that this time has a use, a purpose in your sanctification. Use this God given sabbatical to rest. Quiet your spirit with God’s love. 

Remember in the Waiting

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”  — (Psalms 77:11) 

Christians tend to get what writer/pastor Paul Tripp likes to call “spiritual amnesia”. We forget how faithful the Lord has been to us. We forget His deliverance, His rescue, and His goodness like it never even happened. When we are faced with our waiting season, we become uncertain that the Lord will provide for our needs. Will He remember us at all? We just plain forget Him. We forget Who He is. The enemy would like nothing more than to help us hide away those trophies of spiritual victories in our lives, all those times when Jesus came through and saved us. It is time to remember, friends. Let us dust off the proverbial trophy case and be reminded of the battles the Lord has fought for us. He has been so very good to us in our past. He will be good in our future too. We need to recount His past goodness and awaken the truth that He will always be good to us.  

Forgive in the Waiting

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  — (Colossians 3:13)

This one hurts. Let’s face it, in times of waiting, there is always spirit of bitterness or unforgiveness that has found its root. You could be waiting as a painful consequence of someone else’s mistake or decision. You could be waiting for news from a doctor, or a loved one, or an employer. Your wait could be healing from a loss or from the news that something you so desired is never to be. You could be in a waiting season because of your own sin or poor choice, and the regret has left you broken. You could be expectantly waiting on the Lord to give the go-ahead for something important, but He hasn’t yet, and it feels like you are never going to get anywhere. Whatever the waiting season, it is easy to blame, to point fingers, and to be angry.

We harbor feelings that are dishonoring to Jesus. This hurts us; it will not help us move on. When we bask in our thoughts of unforgiveness, we let the enemy lead the way for continued hurt and bitterness in our future. However, if we use the silence and stillness of our waiting time to forgive, to relinquish control, to surrender our pain to Jesus, we move one step closer to who He wants us to be. This time is not wasted. Forgiving will only launch you forward. 

Take heart! You are one day closer, my friend. One more day of waiting is under your belt. You are nearer to what you are seeking. The waiting will not last forever, but rest assured there will be more waiting seasons. Let’s practice faithful waiting together and honor God in these holy moments of pause. He has planned good things ahead for us.  

Wait well with me.