Learning to Trust God in the Waiting Season | Faith-Based Christian Encouragement

 Learning to Trust God in the Waiting Season

Waiting is hard.  It's one of the hardest parts of the Christian life.  We pray, hope, and ask God for answers.  We ask Him for direction, healing, provision, and restoration.  Then we wait.  Sometimes we wait for days, sometimes for months, and sometimes even for years for an answer to our prayers.  During those waiting seasons, we might wonder if God hears us.  Does He see us?  Does He hear us?  Is He even there at all?  Learning to trust God in the waiting season is hard, but Scripture reminds us that our waiting is not wasted when our hope is in the Lord.

Isaiah 40:31 tells us:

Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

God's timeline is not always the same as ours, but He is always faithful.  His timing is not careless.  Though He sometimes seems silent, He is still working.  God's delays are not denial.  In the waiting, God strengthens our faith, shapes our character, and teaches us to depend on Him.  

Waiting Teaches Us to Trust God's Timing

One of the hardest parts of waiting is remembering that God's timing is different from our own.  We want answers quickly.  We want doors open right now.  We want our problems solved immediately, but when we can see only one small part of a situation, God sees the whole picture.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us:

He has made everything appropriate in its time.

That verse doesn't mean everything will work out according to our schedule.  It tells us that God's timing is perfect and with purpose.  He knows what we need when we need it.   When we want to rush ahead, waiting teaches us to stop and say, "Lord, I trust you even when I don't understand."

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Waiting Draws Us Closer to God

A waiting season can become a time of personal spiritual growth.  When answers don't come to us right away, we can draw closer to God through prayer, Scripture, worship, and surrender.

Psalm 27:14 says:

Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

God doesn't have us wait for no reason.  He strengthens us while we wait.   He gives us courage for each day.  When circumstances feel uncertain, He gives us peace.  He reminds us that we do not walk through waiting seasons alone.  

Our waiting seasons are not empty spaces.  They are sacred spaces.  They are spaces where God meets us, teaches us, and grows us in our faith.

Waiting Reminds Us That God Is Still Working

The enemy will try to convince us that nothing is happening while we wait, but just because we don't see God working for a season doesn't mean he is silent and inactive.  

A few days ago, my granddaughter and I planted a butterfly garden.  She helped till the dirt.  She planted her little seeds, covered them, and watered them.  Right now, we are waiting for the flowers to grow.  Right now, she only sees the dirt, and it looks like nothing is happening, but below the dirt in spaces we cannot see, those seeds are getting ready to sprout.  Soon, we will see evidence of growth above the dirt.  Then she'll see the flowers grow tall and beautiful, attracting lots of beautiful butterflies and, hopefully, hummingbirds too.

Our spiritual lives are very much like those flower seeds.  In our waiting, God is preparing things we cannot see.  He is arranging hearts, working in circumstances, building our endurance, and protecting us from things we don't understand.

Romans 8:28 promises us that:

God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Even in the waiting, God is working for our good and His glory.

How to Trust God While You Wait

Trusting God in a waiting season doesn't mean we won't sometimes get discouraged.  It means that we must keep bringing our discouragement to God and not turn away from Him.  Here are a few simple ways we can stay grounded while we wait. 

1.  Spend time in God's Word daily.  Scripture will always remind us of what is true.

2.  Pray honestly.  God can handle our questions, our fears, and our tears.  We don't have to be stronger than we are.

3.  Remember God's past faithfulness.  We can write down all the ways He has been faithful, provided for us, answered us, guided us, and comforted us in the past.

4.  Worship in praise.  Praise shifts our focus from the enormity of our problems to the greatness of God.

5.  Do the next thing.  We don't need to sit idly while we wait.  We can obey God in the small things while trusting Him with the big things.

God is Faithful in the Waiting

God doesn't forget about us while we wait.  He hears every prayer.  He knows every burden.  He understands every heartbreak.  We might not have the answers yet, but we have the presence of the One who does.  

Lamentations 3:25 says:

The Lord is good to those who await Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

Let's keep seeking Him while we wait.  Let's keep trusting Him.  We can trust and believe that His timing is good.  His plan is wise, and His love for us remains unchanged.  

God is not wasting our waiting.  He is working in it. 

I'll leave you with a beautiful song about waiting on God's perfect timing.  It's called Flowers, by Samantha Ebert.

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