What it Means to Wait
Waiting. Why is it so hard for us? In a generation of now, waiting almost seems like a lost art. We expect the work we did yesterday to pay off today. We expect to land the dream job right after graduation. We expect to find “the one” without any struggle.
It’s tough, because I’m just as guilty as anybody. I want the seeds that I’ve sown for years to reap a harvest and the prayers that I’ve prayed for what seems like forever to be answered. And I’d love for it to happen now. There are dreams and desires that I’ve held in my heart for so long, and it seems like God has forgotten them.
I’ve been wrestling with this a lot this week, but the Lord continues to remind me of what it means to wait. It’s not sitting around wondering “when’s it gonna happen?” or “why won't God come through?”.
Waiting is making—the process God uses to make us who He’s called us to be. There’s so much He’s doing to grow our character and to change us into His likeness. We can’t see it, but every day of waiting He’s pruning us and chipping away the hurtful things in our lives to make room for what He has next.
Waiting is weaving—our hearts with the Father’s heart, our desires with His desires, our dreams with His dreams. It’s a time of falling more in love with the God who can do all of these things. Waiting produces intimacy.
Waiting is seeking—His voice and His will above what we want, above our agenda. As we draw closer and closer to Him in the waiting, we start to care more about what He has to say, above our own complaints. It’s seeking His kingdom first and foremost.
Waiting is testing—to see if we’ll remain faithful. God is always faithful to fulfill His promises. He’s never too early, and never a second too late. Oftentimes God will speak to us in a mighty and life-changing way then call us immediately into a wilderness season. It’s to see what’s more important—the promise or the One who said it, the gift or the Giver.
Boy, has He called me to walk through many of these seasons, some I’ve yet to reach the end of. But that’s also part of it; most of life is the in-between’s.
My favorite passage of all time talks about this exact thing. It’s amazing because no matter how many times I think understand what God is saying here, He always points out something new.
“Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him” Psalm 37:3-7.
When you’ve lost hope, when you’re growing wearing, when you’re tired of waiting, hold on to this verse. Read the whole chapter while you’re at it, because it’s encouraged me in ways I can’t even explain.
I feel like God is saying: Be faithful where I’ve placed you. Don’t fight it or try to get out of it. Don’t seek to speed up the process, or you’ll short-circuit My plan. The best place to be is waiting, trusting, and delighting in Me.
Notice the verse says WE are to trust, dwell, cultivate, delight, and commit. Then HE will give, HE will do, and HE will bring. It ends by saying, again, rest and wait.
I’ve found, too, that God’s greatest work isn’t what’s on the other side, but it’s in the waiting. It’s right here, right now. What He’s doing in this season isn’t so small, but it’s the stage upon which He speaks. Take this blog for instance. This was never a dream of mine, but it was brought about through a difficult time of waiting. And I have a feeling that this is far more important than whatever it is I was waiting for.
