Waiting is one of the hardest things for us to do in life. From early childhood, we experience the process of waiting, along with the frustration and excitement it also brings. As children we’ve waited in anticipation for things we knew were coming; things we knew would bring us joy and make us happy. Many of us have waited with excited anticipation to open our Christmas presents Christmas morning – hoping to get that extra special toy or ‘thing’ we’ve been wanting for months. We’ve waited with anticipation for our birthdays to arrive so we can be celebrated, blow out candles, eat cake, and hopefully receive something very special as a gift. If you’re like me, maybe you’ve even waited for that special dessert to be prepared by mom so you can enjoy it’s deliciousness. When a woman becomes pregnant, she has to wait 9 months before her baby is born. When we go on job interviews, sometimes we have to wait several days or weeks before we know if we’ve got the job. When you go to school, you must wait several years before you graduate and receive your diploma or degree. Many of us must wait in traffic on a daily basis to go to work or school.
The reality is, no one escapes the process of waiting. It is something we must all go through. But why? What is the purpose? What is the end result?
The process of waiting is a very special, challenging, and often uncomfortable place. But it is necessary. There are lessons we learn through the process of waiting. Stretching takes place while we’re waiting. Healing takes place. We’re being developed in our character. We’re building endurance and strength. Our faith is increased through the process of waiting. Our trust and dependence on God deepens. The process of waiting ultimately helps us to be the person God created us to be before the foundations of the world began.
Waiting Is a Test of Faith: Waiting through hardships can really test our faith. Sometimes we are not just facing one hardship, but several all at the same time. Sometimes the tests come at us so fast we hardly get time to breathe before the next blow comes. If you’re like me, you’ve asked the question why would God allow this? James 1:2-4 says “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”.
When we’re in the midst of our trials, we become dependent upon God like never before. Our prayer life increases dramatically. We seek God every day, all day. We get to a place where we realize we need God to survive. We need His word and His presence. In these moments, God is testing our hearts to see if we’ll truly believe in Him no matter what our situation looks like, or how long we have to wait. Our faith is more precious than gold. It’s our faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). The testing of our faith is where the miracles are. Radical tests produce radical faith. God is able to use us in a mighty way when He brings us through long difficult seasons of waiting. We’re able to comfort and encourage others as they go through their own season of waiting.
It’s important to remember that when we come through the trial, we must be careful not to decrease our fervor in seeking the Lord with the same passion, dependence, and faith we had during the trial. Our walk should grow deeper as a result of the trial, not revert back to where we were before.
Abraham was tested by God in an incredible way. When Abraham was 75 years old and childless, God spoke to him and told him he would have many descendants. His son Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old. That’s a long time to wait. Then, years later, God tested Abraham by telling him to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. This was the ultimate test of faith, but Abraham obeyed God. He prepared the altar, tied his precious son that he loved to the altar (who was old enough to question what was happening), and was about to kill him before the voice of the Lord called out to him and stopped him. Abraham knew that if God promised he would be the father of many nations, and that it would come through Isaac, that if he was asked to sacrifice him God was able to raise him up again. Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith, God blessed him in all things (Genesis 24:1).
Waiting Prepares Your Heart: Before God can bless us with all the wonderful promises He’s made, He wants to make sure that our heart posture is in the right place. We must be humble and aligned with His will. We must walk in integrity in every area of our lives. For that to be accomplished, we must go through the process of waiting while He prunes us and delivers us from behaviors (even people), that would hinder us from being fully ready to receive the blessings that He has for us. Things like pride, arrogance, selfishness will definitely get in the way. God knows that if we receive the blessings too soon we’ll think we’ve achieved them in our own ability instead of acknowledging everything came from Him. (Deuteronomy 8:18 says it is God who gives us the power to get wealth). God gives us all of the gifts, talents, creativity, ideas, and resources to be able to accomplish all that we do. We must continually examine our hearts to make sure we’re keeping Him first in our lives. We must always thank Him and give Him all of the glory as He promotes and elevates us.
Joseph’s story is a great example of how God tests us and prepares our hearts while we’re waiting on the promise. When Joseph was 17 years old, God gave him two dreams that showed him he was going to be in a position of power. What God didn’t show Joseph was what he would have to go through or how long he’d have to wait before the promise was manifested. Joseph’s brothers were extremely jealous of him and plotted to kill him. Instead, they put him in a pit then sold him to be enslaved to the Egyptians. He ended up working several years for Potiphar, who was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. God’s favor was on Joseph. Not only did he prosper and grow in integrity, but Potiphar prospered too. Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that he left everything he had in Joseph’s care. A lie from Potiphar’s wife caused Joseph to be thrown in prison, but he continued to walk in integrity. God gave him favor with the keeper of the prison, who also entrusted Joseph to be in charge of all of the prisoners. It may have seemed like another major setback, but God was developing him and preparing him to receive the promise spoken many years before. He was growing in integrity and learning higher levels of administration and management. God gave him discernment to interpret dreams. But he still had to wait several more years in prison (for a crime he didn’t commit) before he was brought to Pharaoh to interpret his dreams and ultimately become governor over all of Egypt. Joseph waited 13 years and endured much hardship before God’s word came to pass. And even with all that his brothers did to him, Joseph did not repay them with evil. He realized that what they meant for harm, God meant it all for his good so that he could be in a position to save his people.
Waiting Builds Endurance: Hebrews 10:36 says “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise”. It is necessary that we learn to endure hardships when they come. This is a hard truth, but truth nonetheless. Our faith walk is sometimes comprised of a series of waiting seasons. Some seasons last longer than others. We all have waiting seasons where we’re waiting for a mighty move of God – whether it’s in our own lives or the lives of someone we know and love. We’re waiting for healing, breakthroughs, deliverance, guidance, wisdom, strength, peace, joy, a fresh anointing, comfort, or a great financial blessing. No matter what it is, we want to see manifestation. Sometimes, God will move suddenly, and sometimes, He will cause us to wait.
The key to waiting is to learning to wait patiently, and with expectation. We must remember that we are not waiting on people, but we’re waiting on God. That is a big difference. Man’s ability is limited, but with God, all things are possible. While we’re waiting on God, our strength is being renewed (Isaiah 40:31). Our hope is being restored. Hebrews 10: 23 says “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful”. God’s word will never return to Him void, so no matter how long it takes we can wait with eager expectation that everything He promised us will be fulfilled.
When we lay hold of this, we are able to wait with a positive attitude instead of giving in to murmuring and complaining. It’s also important that we learn to wait with healthy expectations. Time is our reality and for our benefit, not God’s. He exists outside of time, so when things seem to be taking longer than we expected and according to our timeclock, we end up frustrated, impatient, and sometimes angry with God. God doesn’t always tell us the exact moment when the blessing will come. This is to build up our faith and trust in Him.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love. Though they can sometimes be extremely long and difficult, we thank You that Your perfect will is being accomplished in us and through us. Thank You for giving us insight as we seek your face during these hard times. We trust You and give You praise and glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen
