God in the Waiting

Patience is not one of my virtues. In my mind’s eye, I imagine the desired outcome—an herb garden, a refinished piece of furniture, a perfectly organized closet. Once started, the true timeline becomes apparent, and in the cold onslaught of reality, my commitment wanes. Weeds sprout. Less than thorough sanding becomes good enough. And clothes no longer hang according to season and color. 

It’s not that I’m afraid of the work involved. Rather, it’s that the visible results take too long. Wait. Some days it feels like the crudest of four-letter words. What happens inside you when days turn into weeks? Weeks into months. Perhaps even years. Waiting is hard.

Have you ever experienced the anxiety and heartache of a seemingly unanswered prayer? When your heart cries out to God, How much longer, Lord?

Prepare

Nothing is more frustrating in the waiting than doing nothing. When God calls us to wait, He isn’t calling us to inactivity. He is calling us to surrender. Surrender isn’t a call to remain actionless. It is a call to choose the correct action. I may not be able to choose some factors around me, but there are some things I can control. This is the practical side to the waiting: where my choices meet God’s grace. It is the place where patience becomes real. So how do we get there?

Make your use of time intentional.
This is especially important when it comes to our time online. Living too long in a curated world can leave us wanting more. It’s one thing to long for more of Jesus. It’s an entirely different thing to want more from life because what we see online looks different than the one we’re living.

Remain consistent with relationships that challenge you spiritually.
How real are the relationships you choose to prioritize? Here again, we have to be careful not to choose relationships based on a carefully curated image. Bring up close the people who keep it real with Jesus and who will keep it real with you. No one benefits from a show. Seek out those relationships. Be willing to take a risk to get close to someone who loves Jesus more than they love you.

Interview your emotions rather than letting them lead. 

Putting a lid on our emotions might contain them for a season, but it never ends
well. Our emotions give us intel on what’s going on internally and externally in our life. However, emotions are landmarks; they are not the map itself. When you sense an emotion rising, take the time to ask yourself questions beginning with the words why, how, or when. As you ponder these questions, listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

God teaches us about Himself when we draw near to Him. What we learn is walked out in how we spend our time. Online, in our relationships, and with our emotions. Our external and internal environments matter. Especially in a season of waiting. In those places, we must be intentional.

Rest

True surrender while waiting means pushing through the unrest in our souls to embrace the proverbial spiritual hallway between two points in our life. Mere acceptance, however, isn’t the mark of faith in the waiting. If you’re struggling to be at rest, consider these questions:

Are you measuring the circumstances around you? Or are you
comparing your situation to someone else?

David recognized this same tension when he composed these lines: “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his
way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass” (Psalms 37:7, NKJV)

How long has it been since you’ve been quiet before the Lord?

God invites me to be with Him. Try as I might, I can’t reason myself into a place
of patience. When I spend time with Jesus, however, the anxiousness shifts. The strength to wait comes in remembering I am loved. It is a grace Christ offers in proximity (Matthew 11:29).

True patience means rest. Scripture isn’t a formula to be enacted in our lives. It is an invitation into a love deeper than we could ever imagine, a peace stronger than our greatest fear. God doesn’t delight in my angst, and He doesn’t withhold something in order to make me prove my love or commitment to Him. But God is clear in His intent: patience is an attitude of our hearts before it can be an intent of our decisions.

If you’re not already in one, another season of waiting will come. Make a commitment to do more than pass the time in the process. Make the choice to pay attention . . . and to be patient. He is, after all, God in the waiting.

Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. –Psalms 25:4-5, NKJV.

—Written by Regina Franklin. Used by permission from the author.