There Is Purpose to Our Waiting

When I think of waiting, the first picture that comes to mind is either: I’m standing in a queue waiting for my turn at a checkout, or I’m sitting in a doctor’s clinic, twiddling my thumbs as I wait for my appointment that was meant to be 30 minutes ago. During those times, I would either distract myself with my phone or sigh and tap my foot while thinking of all the things I could be doing instead.

Waiting just seems like a waste of time. If I can do several things at once and finish a checklist early, I am a happy person! I am also a prompt person, so when I’m waiting for others to turn up for a meeting or meet a deadline, it can feel like they didn’t care enough to make it a priority.

These feelings about waiting also shapes the way I view my relationship with God. When He does not seem to answer prayers that I’ve been praying for a long time, it can feel like He’s putting my life on hold and I’m left to languish, or that He’s forgotten about me.

By the world’s definition, waiting is only a means to an end. The waiting itself is not enjoyable nor important, but merely something to endure to reach our end goal.

Yet the Bible exhorts us to wait (e.g., Psalms 27:14, 33:20, 37:7, 130:5), particularly for God Himself. The Bible also shows us that waiting doesn’t mean stagnation or inaction (e.g., Matthew 25, Titus 2:11-13).

Given the many seasons of waiting in our lives, whether it be waiting for that dream, or relationship, for healing or breakthrough, here are three things that have helped me learn to wait well:

1. Live in the present – make wise use of your time

I remember during my recovery from surgery, I was not able to drive or walk far. It was a long and slow season, but I came to realise that even as I was waiting to get well, there were things I could do. For one, I needed to do my physio exercises that would improve my mobility in the future. Also, I had so much time to pray, to be with family and invest in friendships, and do things I enjoyed like reading and writing.

To wait well, we can make the most of the opportunities presented to us in the waiting.

God gave Joseph a dream that took many years to come to fruition. In those waiting years, Joseph used every opportunity to be faithful. As a slave in Potiphar’s house, he was deemed trustworthy and promoted to manager of the household. In prison, he used his gifts to interpret dreams and won favour with the guards.

In Jeremiah 29, God told his people who were in exile that they will be brought back home after seventy years. While they waited, He instructed them to build houses, have families, plant, harvest crops, and continue to increase in number.

Reading this passage has always encouraged me to make the most of my present situation, to “dwell in the land” and be faithful to do what’s in front of me (Psalm 37:3).

2. Remember: while waiting is hard, a rash decision can be more costly

When we become impatient in our waiting, we can be tempted to rush ahead of God to make things happen.

About six to seven years ago, I was in a season of transition and wanted a change. I felt that God was telling me that he had some big plans and to just wait for them. It wasn’t that I heard a booming voice speak to me from the heavens, but it was more a sense in my spirit.

As the year went on, however, I got itchy feet and started exploring options. I flew to the south part of New Zealand to follow up a job opportunity, which did not work out. I met with a broker to see if buying a house was feasible on my income, but it wasn’t the right timing. I even started a master’s degree while working full time, thinking that would set me up for teaching at the tertiary level if I ever wanted.

But not even halfway into the first semester, I felt myself getting overwhelmed with the workload; I became sleep-deprived and battled with insomnia. At the end of the semester, I realised that God’s grace was not in this decision, so I pulled out, and it took me a long time to recover.

Nearly a year later, while on a mission trip to Tonga, God finally spoke to me about moving there to teach. He had the plan, and it came about eventually. If I had just waited, I would have saved a lot of money and stress!

One way that keeps me from making rash decisions when God seems silent is to remember Scriptures’ promises of strength, goodness, and blessing for those who “wait on the Lord” (Isaiah 30:18, 40:31, 64:4; Lamentations 3:24-26; Psalm 27:13-14).

This has proven true for me of late as I questioned whether to stay in Tonga. After surgery, a volcanic eruption, and a breakup, I was unsure whether this was still the place for me to be. But I didn’t hear any direction from God for about a year, so I decided to lean on His last instruction until I got a new one.

A year on, I am thankful for the time spent waiting, which has allowed me to heal from PTSD and heartbreak and overcome some of my fears. Now that I am in a better state of mind, I have felt God encourage me again to stay. If I had decided to leave earlier, I would not have been able to face my fears and heal the way I have.

3. Hope in God

In times of waiting, we can get disappointed when we aren’t seeing any signs of what we hope for. Proverbs 13:12 says that hope deferred makes the heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

How do we hope in our waiting? The key is to couple it with faith. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for (NKJV). Faith is what gives our hope substance. Rather than having a wishful thinking type of hope that has no substance, we can hope by faith in God’s Word.

I am still waiting, hoping to get married. There have been times when this hoping has looked like pleading and wheedling to God – “Please, God, I want a husband. Please answer me” – like a frustrated child not getting what they want.

When I was reminded that it is faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6), I asked God for Scripture to stand on, and He brought to my mind verses like Psalm 37:4 and 1 John 5:14-15 that reveal His heart for me. I grew confident in my prayers, knowing that if I am delighting in Him and praying according to His Word, I can be assured that He gladly hears and receives my prayers.

As I continue to wait, God’s Word reminds me that my hope and confidence is in Him, not in my own thinking or current circumstances.

In a beautiful poem by Russell Kelfer titled ‘Wait’, he writes from the perspective of God replying to a believer’s prayers and desperate cries for answers. The writer talks about how God can give us the things we ask for, but having all our prayers “answered” may not lead us to know God more, nor will they help us know what it’s like to humbly depend on God moment by moment.

Waiting on God makes us tune our ear to His voice, deepens our relationship with Him and strengthens our trust in Him. In times of waiting and the unknown, I become extra attentive in my Bible reading and prayer, expecting God to speak, to give me encouragement or show me what I should be doing.

Waiting on God in this place and time has led me to confront some fears regarding natural disasters in my country and my future. It has caused me to lean on the Holy Spirit for comfort and taught me how to hope in Christ. Knowing that the waiting is part of God’s plan and that He is working in and through it makes the wait not something to run from, but to embrace.

Psalm 123:2 describes my current posture: “As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master . . . so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.”