Waiting Well

What do you do when God doesn’t do what you want?

When the relationship hasn’t been remedied, the job hasn’t appeared, the sickness hasn’t left?

When you know that He can change things—it’s certainly within the power of the All-Powerful Almighty—but when it doesn’t seem that He’s willing to answer your prayers with yes right now.

When He’s making you wait, saying either not yet or I have something better?

Friends, none of us like waiting. We’re used to instant gratification and, speaking for myself, I can get grumpy if my Amazon package takes two days to arrive instead of two hours; if someone doesn’t answer my text quickly enough; or if I have to sit at a red light because I have places to go and the entire transportation system should bow to my whims (please tell me I’m not alone in these scenarios).

Thankfully, the Bible has plenty of instances of waiting, so much so, that we get a sense of the right and wrong way to wait. See if you can pick up the trends:

Joseph is enslaved for thirteen years before God elevates him to second in command ( Genesis 41:37). During his imprisonment, he continues to steward his dream interpreting gifts, serving others and glorifying the Lord (Genesis 41).

Hannah spends years in “deep anguish” over her longing for a child (1 Sam 1:10). Through her tears, she offers up a “sacrifice of praise” and believes that God will gift her the baby He’s promised; He does, and Samuel becomes one of the most honored prophets around (Samuel 3:20).

The Israelites grumble and complain in the wilderness, rebelling against God and Moses continuously. As a result, they receive forty more years of desert-wandering, their generation never making it to the Promised Land (Joshua 5:6).

Noah spends one hundred twenty years building the ark, likely enduring constant ridicule, but persevering in his divine assignment anyway (Gen 6:3, 7:6).  

Anna and Simeon spend their days near the temple awaiting the sight of the eight-day-old baby Jesus (Luke 2:25-35). Given that they don’t know when they’ll meet their Messiah, they devote their lives to “worship with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:36).

Abraham and Sarah don’t believe that the Lord will gift her a baby in her old age, so they take matters into their own hands and manipulate God’s promises to fit their timeline. The illegitimate birth of Ishmael sparks strife, discord, and division between the Jews and (future) Muslims, which is still seen to this day (Genesis 16).

Nehemiah has a God-given dream to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3). Rather than acting impulsively, he prays about it for four months before asking the king for permission to build … which he then gets (Nehemiah 2:5).

Paul and Barnabas wait for the Holy Spirit’s leading and guidance before embarking on their journey to preach the Gospel (Acts 13).

The bleeding woman suffers for twelve, long years before Jesus heals her (Mark 5:25-34). And how does she get this blessing? By running after Him, diving to the ground, and believing that just a touch of the hem of His garment will be enough to work a miracle. He praises her for her faith.

Job agonizes for who-knows-how-long—wrestling with the Lord but refusing to renounce his faith in Him—before his mourning turns to dancing (Job 1:6-22, Job 42).

Zechariah and Elizabeth wait decades before they’re blessed with the birth of their son, John the Baptist. While the elderly Elizabeth trusts the Lord to open her womb, Zechariah doesn’t and is struck mute on account of his unbelief (Luke 1:11-25).

The youthful David’s anointed as king by God and Samuel, yet has to wait until he’s thirty to actually reign (2 Sam 5:4). Even then, he only rules over Judah; another seven years pass before he’s accepted as king over the whole of Israel (2 Sam 5:5). And as we know, he writes a lot of psalms, cries a lot of tears, and wavers in his faith; but ultimately, he returns to the Lord.

Saul encounters Christ and is blinded by Him for three days (Acts 9:8-19). He endures three days of darkness—full of much confession, I’m sure, since he’s a notorious persecutor of Christians—before the Lord of Light restores his sight, renames him Paul, and empowers him to be one of the figureheads of His Church.

The disciples spend three agonizing days grieving and doubting whether Jesus will rise again (1 Cor 15:3-5).

Esther longs to advocate for her people, but devotes three days to prayer and fasting before approaching the king (Esther 4:16).

Jonah stubbornly refuses to preach to people who ‘don’t deserve to be saved’ and has to spend three days (sensing a theme yet?)  in a fish’s belly as a consequence (Jonah 1).

And last but certainly not least …

Jesus Himself has to wait: thirty years before the time is right to begin His ministry; and three days before He resurrects Himself from the grave (Luke 3:23, 1 Cor 15:3-5).

Plus, God’s waiting thousands of years to bring about the second coming of Christ—where Satan will be overthrown once and for all, and His Children will be able to walk hand-in-hand with Him, just like it was before the Fall—because the Almighty Judge is patiently giving mankind chance after chance after chance to “reach repentance” and be saved before its too late (Rev 20:10, Lev 26:12, 2 Pet 3:9).

All this to be said, waiting well seems to revolve around a few key details:

1. Staying loyal to the Lord.

   
   

   It doesn’t mean you can’t cry and shout at Him, but that you keep pursing relationship with Him—praying, reading the Word, going to church—even when you don’t feel like it. Be honest and humble with Him, chasing after Him with the same desperation that the bleeding woman does.

   
   

2. Practicing gratitude.

   
   

   When we focus on what He has done instead of what He hasn’t, our hearts are much better off. Hannah, David, Anna, and Simeon can attest to that.

   
   

3. Reflecting on you instead of pointing fingers at God or others.

   
   

   As the Israelite’s, Jonah’s, and Saul’s journeys showcase, sometimes we’re not right with God and are facing the consequences of that. When we slow down to commune with the Lord in humility, we may come to find that we’ve been the ones complicating our lives.

   
   

4. Seeking to bless.

   
   

   Try to be a light to others—like Joseph during his imprisonment, or Nehemiah and Esther who strive to serve their people—because, by default, aiming to shine His Light tethers you to Light Himself (John 8:12).

   
   

5. Surrendering.

   
   

   There is a God, and we are not Him. When we let go of our timetables and bow to His good, perfect plans—which are waayyyy beyond our understanding—then there’s less pressure on us (Isaiah 55:8-9). We don’t have to figure out a way to calm the storms of life, we just have to yield to the One Who can calm them, but may be guiding us through them instead. After all, as much as we don’t like them, trials refine our faith and strengthen our connection to Christ (1 Peter 1:6-8).

   
   

Alright friends, there we have it. In the waiting, our Sovereign Lord is working.

May we cling to our Father—cry and praise and rage and serve and reflect and bow—and thank Him for being ever-patient with us, as He works all things together for good (Rom 8:28).

With His help, we can be ever-patient and good-focused—God-focused—too.