It’s not always easy to wait.
When you’re young you can’t wait to grow up. When you’re grown, you’re constantly looking ahead to the next chapter in life:
When will I finish school,
get married,
have children,
buy a house,
get a better house,
have something or BE something?
And on it goes.
We always seem to be waiting for something to happen—or not happen.
Sure, it’s hard to wait. And yes, it would be great if things happened in our timing. But there are larger forces at play.
What does God have to say about waiting—and how can we learn to wait with a joyful heart and good attitude?
First, waiting can be a time of preparation. God is getting things ready, and getting us ready for His blessings.
Also, waiting refines us; it builds character and teaches us to exercise our “trust muscles” so they get stronger and firmer as we learn to trust God more.
Here’s the thing: Just because there is a delay, it doesn’t always mean the road is closed forever. You may have heard the phrase: God’s DELAYS are not always God’s DENIALS.
In Romans 12:12, we are admonished to “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Oh, if only it were that easy.
When things are taking entirely too long, you may begin to take matters into your own hands and take control. But when you do, there are consequences.
For example, if you put a cake in the oven and remove it before the right time, you’d get a hot, gooey mess. Yuk!
But if you would have waited, you’d have a delicious, freshly-baked cake that was completely done and ready to eat.
Waiting makes a world of difference.
So how do you relinquish control, and let God work in your life as you wait on something—or someone?
Here are six (6) ways I’ve learned to learn to wait well:
1. Know on Whom you wait. As you wait, learn to trust God. He is the One who loves you most. He wants the best for you. Look to Him, not to the answer, or thing or person on whom you wait. “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:5-6).
2. Wait with hope. You can choose your attitude: to fret or to have faith. Ask God to help you to have confident expectation in what HE is doing. Ask Him for patience and peace. As you wait, God is building in you strength, courage, fortitude and stamina.
3. Pray and obey. Waiting is not a time to do nothing. It’s the time to pray and to act—to be about the Father’s business as He leads you. You can share your disappointments and frustrations with the Lord as you pray. Then follow His lead on what to do next—or not to do.
We wait in hope, believing even when we cannot see. “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:24-25).
4. Surrender. Surrendering your dreams and desires is like releasing a seed into the soil and trusting God to grow your dreams—even when you don’t see anything happening. God is always at work, behind the scenes. And small beginnings can yield large results when we are patient.
5. Remember what God has done in the past. As you begin to let go of your grasp that things should turn out the way you think they should be, peace comes. Fear subsides as you look back on what God has done in the past with His mighty power and miracles—for those in the Bible, for others, and for you-in your own life. Remind yourself that God has worked, is working, and will continue to be at work in the future.
6. Live in the now. Where is your focus? Are you looking so far into the future that you’re missing what’s happening today? Hope with future eyes, but keep your hands on what you are doing and who you are becoming in the present. God has something to teach you in ALL seasons of life.
Here’s a Brief Lesson on Waiting from a Bamboo Plant
Bamboos are fast growing plants. But before they grow tall, they grow deep. It’s a lesson in patience and faith, because once you plant a bamboo seed you don’t see any grow for four years.
Nothing seems to be happening.
Nothing at all.
You may get discouraged or frustrated; you may even begin to lose hope that anything will ever sprout from the seed you planted.
And then, finally, in the fifth year, the bamboo plant shoots up a whopping 80 feet!
Such incredible growth could not have been possible without the extensive root system created during those first formative years—a strong support to hold the plant growth that was coming.
The waiting was for a reason.
When You’re Tired of Waiting
Don’t give up just because you don’t see any movement in your life and in your situation. Keep the faith!
You never know when your day will come, and things begin to change.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
In God’s timing, things happen.
Winter’s snowy blasts turn to fragrant spring blossoms.
The baby is delivered.
The check comes in the mail.
You get the job
“Someday” finally arrives!
We may not always know the reasons for delay, or like them, but we can trust God is working all things together for the good—and for His glory.
Have courage. Have faith. God is in control, and His timing is perfect.
Take your hands off and trust God—even when you do not understand.
The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.
***
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.
Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Romans 8:25
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
For more resources by Jackie M. Johnson, check out When Love Ends (a helpful resource on how to get over a breakup) and Praying with Power When Life Gets Tough (topic-based on what to do when going through hard times).
Photo by Felipe Cespedes, Pexels