Finding Hope in the Wait
No one likes to wait. It doesn’t really matter what it’s for, waiting is just no fun. Yet, waiting is a part of everyday life, we’re always waiting for something.
Often times, in big areas of our life, like work and relationships if we’re not where we want to be we consider it a “waiting season.“ The thing is, seasons usually refer to weather, at least, that’s the most tangible thing we can compare them to and in weather, seasons come and go in very predictable patterns but our rhythm of life is a very different thing. Waiting on God to answer, to heal, to provide, to direct isn’t easy. It’s not a cycle like going from summer to fall. That’s a change we can prepare for, it doesn’t require much expectancy. I don’t need to hope that summer will come back the following year, it will. But our lives require so much more faith in what God is doing that we can’t see.
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 NLT
It’s not so much a season as it is a constant. Waiting will always be part of our lives. In fact, it’s what makes faith necessary. We know God has promises for us, we know there are desires of our heart that he wants to meet and we have to trust that He will do just that when the time is right. I know this isn’t easy and the longer we wait the more our expectancy wains and doubts set in.
When I was living in NYC I would go to the subway platform and wait for the train to show up. I waited on that platform fully expecting the train to arrive, I had no doubt about this...at first. But when the wait got too long (in my opinion), I would begin to wonder, I would begin to doubt. Once that happened I would start working out another plan in my head, "Is there another train I can Take, maybe the bus is close, or should I just Uber?" Just one little doubt made me immediately start rethinking all that certainty I had had when I went down into the subway. Just because the wait was longer than I wanted it to be.
Obviously there’s no analogy that can fully capture the timing of God and our brains are wired to understand waiting in the natural. Whether it’s the change of seasons or a train, waiting generally comes to an end within a reasonable or predictable amount of time but waiting in the supernatural has no metric, no standard, no precedence. Each prayer you raise up will have its own unique timing that can not be predicted.
I've been single for ten years. At first, this was by choice, but over time I began to pray for this to change, I felt the desire to meet someone to share my life with. I continue to wait for this prayer to be answered and some days are harder than others because waiting is hard. The good news is, there is still life to live until that answer comes.
I'm learning that the goal isn't to stop waiting. We shouldn’t be looking for the waiting “season” to end and the living season to begin. These two realities exist side by side every day. The goal is to draw closer to His heart and let that become our own.
When we understand what’s happening while we wait it can become a hope filled place in any season. While we wait, God is moving all the pieces around for us, he’s preparing the way, he’s speaking our name in the right places, he’s preparing our hearts and our minds, he’s growing our faith, he's answering prayers. Don't miss that. Just because an answer isn't showing up the way you want it to doesn't mean it's not getting answered, He's just doing it His way and not yours. This you can be grateful for!
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
So how do we Find hope in the waiting?
Be honest with yourself
Where are you putting your hope - is it in the thing that you want or is it in God to deliver His promise? Placing your hope in anything other than Jesus will always lead to disappointment. When you find yourself in a cycle of constant disappointment or hopelessness it’s likely because you have put your hope in the wrong things. Take time to evaluate your expectations and be honest with yourself. Let the Holy Spirit convict and If you discover that maybe you’ve put your hope in the wrong things make a change. Refocus your prayers and put your hope in Jesus alone.
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Pray
Seems obvious yet so often we use this as a last resort or only in desperation but as you continue to pray for the desires of your heart God is working. Keep in mind that as you seek His heart in your waiting he may change your own. As you pray listen to your heart. Don’t get in the habit of repeating the same prayers over and over again. Evaluate where you are and pray honest prayers from that place. Waiting is hard and the longer you wait the more important it will be that you are encouraging yourself daily and praying for strength.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Document
While you wait he's working. Keep an eye out for ways that God is actually answering prayer. The more you pray the more he has to work with and the more you watch the more you will see. Keep track of the answered prayers to encourage and remind you that God does show.
So, if you can be confident that he will show, if you know that He will answer at the right time, how does that change your now?
Does it shift your heart from a static waiting to an expectant waiting?
Does it fill you with hope?
Knowing that an answer will come how does that change your days, your conversations, your praise?
