Your waiting time is not a wasted time
God always listens to our prayers and he answers them in three ways: “Yes”, “No” and “Wait”.
Technology and innovations have rendered the world so fast that people do not find the need to wait in order to get something. Most of us do not like to wait, especially in our fast-moving world where everything comes to us in the blink of an eye. We want everything in our life to move fast and very often we expect God to do things quickly for us as well.
While this world may be in constant rush, God never changes and the way he answers us will not change neither. He still tells us to wait. We all have something that we are waiting for in our life, it may be a partner, a job, a promotion, a house, and the list goes on. If God’s answer to your prayer is “wait”, this does not mean that God has forgotten you and will not answer. We need to believe that everything God does is perfect (Psalm 18:30).
We can see in the Bible that many men of God have waited to see God’s promises fulfilled and vision accomplished in their lives. Noah has waited for 130 years before the predicted rains arrived, Abraham has waited 25 years for his promised son, Joseph waited 13 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Moses waited 40 years in the wilderness, Jesus waited 30 years to begin his ministry. God has always used waiting as a tool to shape and develop his children. If you find yourself in a waiting phase, acknowledge that God is having his way in your life.
The Waiting Period is the lapse of time between our prayer and God’s answer. What we do and the attitude we are willing to adopt during that specific time is crucial. When we are in the waiting season, we are left with only two options, either we complain and find solutions on our own (Sarah who gave her servant Hagar to Abraham) or we surrender our lives completely to God and allow him to reveal his plan (Joseph who waited and finally became the governor of Egypt). Your waiting time is not a wasting time, instead it can be turned into a blessing.
Let us see what we need to do when we are found in God’s waiting room:
Wait only on God
The waiting time will help us to wait and depend ONLY on God. Psalm 130: 5–6 and Psalm 37:34 shows us that we should wait only on God. Psalm 121 tells us that our help comes from God alone, the one who has made the heaven and the earth. During this waiting season, seek help from God and wait upon him. According to Psalm 118:8, it is far better to seek refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. When we are waiting for something, we tend to find it easier to seek help from man than God.
However God wants us to trust him first and he would like to be the first one we run to when we need answers.
Trust God
In circumstances where God’s timing does not synchronize with our clock, we need to put our trust in God. Proverbs 3: 5–6 tells us to trust God with all our heart and he will direct our paths. While you wait, it is the time you trust God’s plan for your life. He knows you and he will guide you. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”, Isaiah 55:9, this verse shows us that our thoughts and expectations are different from that of God. We need to see the situation through God’s eyes and trust him. We must believe that God has a plan of hope, peace and prosperity for us (Jeremiah 29:11). When he tells us to wait, he should have some good reasons behind since our future is in his hands. We should trust God’s timing instead of complaining, questioning and nurturing doubts.
Be Patient
We have seen earlier that we do not like to wait but God sometimes uses the waiting time to develop our patience. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a spiritual discipline and a virtue that God expects his children to have. Patience develops when we learn to count on God and waits for his answers. Romans 8:25 states that “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” While we are waiting on God to open doors for us, we are learning to become patient. Psalm 37:7 tells us to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. To be still implies that we need to be calm and let God do his work in our life. The Holy Spirit is within us and will help us to bear patience as fruit (Galatians 5:22–23) while we learn to wait on God.
Praise God
We should praise God even when the answer is delayed. Acts 16:25 tells us that Paul and Silas were singing praises to God when they were found in Jail. They were waiting to be freed but instead of showing discontentment, they have praised God. “I will exalt the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” Psalm 34:1, this verse shows us that we should praise God all the time. God deserves our praises and we must praise him every day even when we are in our waiting season.
If you are waiting for something in your life, do not be dismay if things are not moving in your time frame. No matter how long it takes, but when you trust God, the wait is worth at the end. God makes everything beautiful in his time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Verses to meditate
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” Psalm 130: 5–6
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3: 25 -26
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7
“ Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:18
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3: 5–6
Reflection Time
- What kind of attitude are you demonstrating during your waiting time?
- What are you learning while you are waiting on God?
- How can the waiting time help you grow with God?
Prayer Time
- Pray that you can trust, obey and seek God while you are waiting.
- Pray for your friends who are waiting for something.
