While We Wait…
Waiting sucks, if you ask me.
I don’t like waiting long for things. You know when you’re on a long queue to get a burger or ice cream, you at least want to see people getting served and leaving the line because then it gives you hope that your turn is coming soon. I guess that’s why they call it fast food.
Or maybe it’s while in traffic. Everyone is stuck, moving painfully slow, and when you finally get to the cause of the traffic, you realise it’s actually an incident on the other side of the road causing all the delay. You just feel like so much time has been wasted.
The whole concept of waiting isn’t enjoyable in most cases; it’s endured.
People and organisations know this too well, which is why they constantly try to improve processes and reduce (or completely eliminate) waiting times. Think about using your debit cards instead of waiting for a bank teller, or the self-checkout bays in supermarkets where you don’t have to queue for a cashier. Everyone understands that time is money, and nobody wants to spend it waiting endlessly.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the concept of waiting is completely different in Christianity and in the things of God.
In fact, waiting is sometimes necessary for our benefit. As Paul tells us in Romans 5:3–4 that perseverance produces character. Abraham and Sarah waited decades for their promise child. Joseph endured a long waiting season in prison before becoming prime minister in Egypt. The woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8 waited and suffered for years before encountering Jesus. There are so many examples of people who waited throughout Scripture.
I once heard a preacher say that as Christians, we are “waiting people,” and honestly, that put a lot into perspective for me. As a Christian, I have to learn to wait well and not buy into the “fast/microwave” narrative the world constantly pushes out. Is it fun? Of course not. But I do have control over how I show up while waiting.
Maybe this sounds personal because it is. I’m currently in a waiting season myself, and I needed to remind myself that I am different from the world. I needed to bring back to memory what I should be doing while I wait.
So how do you show up while waiting?
Do you grumble through the process, constantly complaining about how uncomfortable it is? Or do you trust that if it’s in God’s hands, then He truly has your best interest at heart?
Do you compare yourself to people who already have the things you’re desperately waiting and praying for? Or do you genuinely rejoice with them, even in your own pain?
It’s extremely difficult, which is probably why God uses waiting seasons to mould our character.
I also think it’s important to pay attention to our subconscious thoughts, ideas and responses while we wait. What thoughts are we entertaining? What narratives are we agreeing with internally? It’s definitely not easy, but I firmly believe that practice makes permanent.
What if the waiting is actually part of the bigger plan?
One story that always comes to mind when I think about waiting is the story of the Israelites while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God. Moses was there for 40 days and 40 nights, taking instructions from the Lord. Imagine that he had no proper meal for over a month (he was probably fasting), enduring all of that hardship for the sake of the people.
Yet while the people waited, their minds began to wander.
“How do we even know what happened to Moses?”
“What if he’s dead?”
“Maybe God struck him down and we’re here waiting in vain.”
“Let’s just move on with our lives and take matters into our own hands.”
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Sound familiar?
Exodus 32 tells us they eventually made an idol out of their jewellery and worshipped it instead. Psalms 106:20 says that:-
“They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass.”
That’s how far we can drift when we surrender to the wrong voices during our seasons of waiting.
So what voice are you listening to while you wait?
Is it the voice telling you to give up? Or the memories of God’s faithfulness that continue to spur you on?
Is it the voice saying, “It’s not worth it anymore, just compromise,” like Job’s wife when she advised that he “Curse God and die” in Job 2:9?
Or is it the voice reminding you that God has never failed you and He won’t start now?
Waiting is painful, especially when the situation is beyond our control. It brings up all sorts of emotions. But I think we ultimately have two choices:
We can spend the waiting season anxious, bitter, complaining, and worrying ourselves sick (which can even cause bigger health and mental issues)
Or we can “let go and let God”.
I once read a quote that has stayed with me for years:
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
You can either sit there complaining about the rain and how it’s disrupting your plans, or you can learn how to still live, grow, and accomplish things while it rains. Maybe you just need an umbrella or a raincoat!
I pray that God gives us the right posture and attitude while we wait on Him.
I pray that we become everything we are meant to be in the waiting season.
I pray that we hear only the voice of God and not the voice of strangers.
I pray that we guard our hearts with all diligence.
And above all, I pray that God’s will be done in us and through us.
Shalom.
