Waiting On God

Dr Bob Odom, Ph.D., GC-C

I am one of those people who does not like to wait. I have gotten better as I have grown older, but I still struggle with it. Not long ago, I went into our local Kroger supermarket. I only had a couple of items to pick up. I noticed that the self-checkout area was busy, but one of the staffed checkout lanes had only one person in line, and she seemed to be almost finished. Or so I thought.

All went well until the lady in front of me pulled out a fistful of coupons that had to be processed. Some she could use, and others she could not. Then it came time to pay. She pulled out her money and counted out the amount, but then began searching her purse for the exact change. As I looked over at the self-checkout area, I saw the man I would have been behind leaving the store. Meanwhile, there I was, waiting to buy a half gallon of milk, cheese, and a pack of hamburgers.

While we may not like waiting, the Bible is filled with Scriptures and stories of people who had to wait. A few of my favorite passages are:

• Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
• Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”
• Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait (hope) in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
• Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
• Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”
• Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
• Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Spiritually, as I read these verses, one of the things I see connected to waiting is the idea of hope. We are not waiting passively or aimlessly; we wait with anticipation and expectation. Biblical waiting is active trust in God’s wisdom, timing, and faithfulness. While that may not remove the difficulty of waiting, it does help us focus on the promise. God is working, and He will work on our behalf. Our hope is rooted in the character of God.

We see this theme of waiting throughout several stories in the Bible. Abraham waited for a son. Joseph waited for the fulfillment of the promise God had given him. David waited for the kingship, even though he had already been chosen and anointed as king. The children of Israel waited 400 years to be delivered.

In every case, God was working behind the scenes. He was setting things in motion. I am sure the people in these stories could not have imagined exactly how God would bring about the end result. Biblical waiting is active trust. It means continuing to hope, pray, obey, and depend on God while His timing and purposes unfold. We do not always know or see the future, but we know the One who does, and we trust Him.

Those who were noted above were waiting while trusting God. They were waiting while they believed that God was on their side. They were waiting while they continued to follow God in the moment.  Waiting on God means, “I don’t yet see what God is doing, but I trust Him enough to keep looking to Him.”

I would suggest that waiting involves the following. Waiting involves hope. Waiting requires patience (another word I do not like). I read this recently about waiting.

• Pray when we don’t know what God is doing.
• Obey what God has already shown us.
• Trust when circumstances don’t make sense.
• Serve where God has placed us.
• Hope because God’s promises haven’t changed.

In the end, waiting is often a matter of preparation. Waiting is not wasted time. God often does some of His deepest work in us while we are waiting for Him to change what is around us—or to change us. We do not sit wringing our hands; rather, we lift our hands in praise and thanksgiving. A friend once said that the process is just as important as the end result. It is in the process that we learn more about God and much more about ourselves.

One last illustration: the farmer plants, waters, fertilizes, and waits for the harvest. But in the waiting, he is not simply standing in the field staring at the soil. He is not hovering over the planted seed. He is busy preparing for the harvest and doing the other work needed around the farm to be ready for the future.

So let me ask you:

·      What are you waiting for right now?

·      What emotions are you experiencing in the waiting?

·      Where do you see God preparing you?

·      In the waiting, how are you serving God now?

·      Where is your hope? Is it in God or the circumstances and issues you face?