Have you ever gone through a season of waiting on God?
Waiting on God is a very common part of prayer and the Christian life in general, but it’s also probably one of the hardest. In this article, we’ll explore the idea of waiting on God and what you can do as you wait.
God Will Fulfill His Promises
This blog is a story of waiting. Two years ago, I wanted to start a blog. But when I prayed about it, God told me to wait. I was frustrated and I doubted that God would ever give me the green light.
A year and a half later, as I was thinking about the event that started MYCRO, I got a sudden surge of energy from the Holy Spirit. I knew God was trying to tell me something. As I prayed later that night, God gave me the idea to start a MYCRO blog.
Now I see why God told me to wait. If I had started my own blog, I wouldn’t be able to start this one. God had bigger plans than I ever could have imagined.
When God tells you to wait, His answer will one day be yes. God’s promises are still completely trustworthy. We just have to learn to discern His voice.
Another Season of Waiting
Currently, I am once again in a season of waiting.
I’m not sure how long this one will last. It could last for two weeks, or it could last for two years.
Recently, I returned from a leadership camp called TeenPact. (Which, by the way, I highly recommend. I could talk for hours and hours about how amazing it is.) TeenPact runs off of a student leadership model. Most staffers are between 16 and 20 years old, and students are between 13 and 18 years old. This close age range makes so much of an impact. Students realize at the end of the week when the staffers announce their ages how much potential teenagers and young adults have.
For a couple years now, I’ve wanted to staff TeenPact. Last year, God told me to wait. That made complete sense, as I’d only been involved with TeenPact for two years and I was quite young to staff.
This year, God is telling me once again to wait. While this could just mean He wants me to wait a few weeks to fill out the staff application, it could also mean He wants me to wait another year, which I’m not exactly thrilled about. If God didn’t want me to staff this year, why did He lead an intern to ask me to do so? Why has He placed this desire in my heart and given me the skills to do something He doesn’t want me to do yet?
But even though I have lots of questions, I know that God’s plans are always for my best, so I’m choosing to trust Him, even though it’s very, very hard.
How to Wait
Minutes after I began to come to terms with God’s command to wait, I opened my daily devotional, praying that God would guide me to something that would comfort me and assure me of His plan. I came across this verse:
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)
This is how we wait. We take heart through God’s strength, provided by the Holy Spirit, and we wait, trusting that God will one day fulfill His promises even though we can’t see it yet.
Things We Can Do While We Wait
- The most important thing we can do while we wait is pray. Listen to God and spend time with Him so you don’t jump ahead of His plans.
- We should also take time to remember previous promises God has fulfilled. Doing so helps us keep perspective and remain hopeful for the things we’re waiting for.
- Do what God is calling you to do right now. That could involve serving in your church, being faithful with the relationships and tasks He’s given you in this season, or preparing your heart for the thing He’s telling you to wait for.
I hope you’ll join me as I wait on God in this season. He always keeps His promises.
What are you waiting for right now, and what can you do to wait well?