There is Power in Waiting
Are you in a season of waiting? Do you feel as if nothing is happening? Then join us below as we discover how seasons of waiting are filled with growth, and how YOU can know the power found in waiting!
Why is Waiting Important?
Life in the 21st century involves a series of the “suddenly.” Put food in the microwave and seconds later you have a hot meal. Pull up your device and you can have a ‘face to face’ conversation with someone across the world instantly. Ask Alexa, Google, etc., almost any question and you can have an answer in under a second.
We, in Western society—and increasingly around the globe—are becoming addicted to instant gratification, answers, and things. The art of waiting, let alone patiently waiting, is lessening daily. Even those who avoid most social media or technology still enjoy life filled with more “suddenly” than any generation before. Now, this is in no way saying that technology and speed are bad, only that by gaining them we need to become intentional in learning the art of patience… the art of waiting.
Yet, what is the importance of waiting—particularly waiting patiently? What do we gain by waiting?
Well, to wait patiently allows us an opportunity to not waste time worrying about the things we cannot control, or wondering about what could, should or will happen. Time is a precious commodity. It is perhaps one of the reasons why waiting patiently does not always come naturally.
However, when we wait in patience—trusting God to lead us even when it feels like we are stationary—we often find that it allows us to leave the “waiting room” a little sooner. It also causes the time spent waiting to feel more joyful, and brings us into alignment with God…
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”—Isaiah 40:31
This does not mean that we are not meant to press through when the enemy stalls us. But often God allows us to wait because we need time to grow… and grow in Him. If we received everything we want, or even everything God will have us do in our lifetime all at once—at this very moment—would any of us be ready? Would we possess the character, skills, or Godly wisdom needed?
No. The answer is simply, no… because we are a work in progress from the day we are born until the end of our stay on earth. And just as a five-year-old is unallowed to fly a giant commercial jet full of hundreds of people, that same child years later, with the proper training and experience could become a first-rate pilot. So too, the greater things we are destined to walk in comes after God has brought us through the “waiting room” experiences of character training—learning to lean upon Him in that patient waiting place.
Now, it may feel like the waiting is not producing anything. But even for that child who wants to fly jets, without the process of going to school, growing and learning, how could there be confidence in the responsibility? Even so, we each need our own unique periods of “waiting.”
Our “waiting” might look like living in a small town, having a cashier’s job, or being a caregiver to one person… alternatively it might look like living in the middle of a giant city, being a CEO of a major company, or running a nursing home single-handedly. But all of these have value. We never know who we touch, what Kingdom purpose we fulfill in the waiting, but so often we change communities or individual lives merely by being there—by carrying God’s Spirit inside of us and being His light. Yet, beyond this, the waiting is our training ground…
“Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”—Psalm 33:20
Just as a marine goes through special training, or a princess trained in her destiny to become queen, so we, as children of the Most High God must prepare for our special callings… for our roles as kings, priests, warriors, and worshipers. And it is in our waiting on the Lord, as Isaiah 40:31 says, that our strength is renewed!
Waiting patiently, trusting in God in such seasons… is a skill. A Kingdom skill.
Further… waiting on God is never wasted.
God uses every moment of the wait for our good and for the good of His Kingdom.
“Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”—Psalm 25:5
Takeaway
Waiting… waiting patiently is not something which comes naturally for many. In fact, in this day and age it is becoming an increasingly rare skill. However, as Believers, to wait on God is something we all must learn to do in life… and it will not be wasted.
For when we choose to not only accept the wait, but to wait patiently, we open ourselves up to change. To growing in God—allowing His character and strength to develop in us.
As Isaiah 40:31 says, “…those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…” By waiting on God, we not only grow, but become stronger in the Lord.
To wait in the season God chooses is to walk in obedience. It allows us to gain the skills we require to go higher in our call, and it provides an opportunity to grow our relationship with the Lord as we seek Him.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”—Lamentations 3:25
In trying seasons, waiting can become particularly challenging. However, Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” God will strengthen us in heart, body, and our very spirit when we wait on Him in the proper season. When we have the passion, faith, and trust to lean on and into Him. To take the quiet moment to listen to His heartbeat, or the busy moment to lend Him an ear.
“Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”—James 5:7-8
Just as we await the second coming of Jesus, so we must be patient to wait upon Him —waiting with Him—even when our hearts desire to move. Trusting the timing of God… not becoming complacent or failing to move when He says it is time. Being patient in the seasons of pruning, waiting, and growth, because every season is important. Our God knows all, and therefore, in Him we put our trust, knowing that our wait with God is never a waste of time.
His timing is perfect.