Waiting on the Lord — The Not Yet
“though it may linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and it will not delay”
There are times I find waiting on the Lord challenging, which can be one of the hardest parts of faith.
I want the answer now, and when the answer doesn’t arrive in my timeline, I can become impatient and I start to wonder: does God really care? Does he really hear me? Why has he not answered my prayer yet?
I wonder if I am the only one who has felt this way. Maybe you have experienced a season of waiting and like me, you begin to wonder if God really hears your prayer.
Silence does not mean that God is not working or that he has said no. Sometimes God wants us to wait because he is trying to teach us something, and the waiting can be used to grow our faith. It teaches us patience and to trust God’s timing.
The waiting and the suffering can be used to produce perseverance, then in turn character, followed on by hope. This hope is built on God’s unfailing promises.
Soon, the day will come where this waiting will turn into answered prayers and testimonies of God’s faithfulness. What once felt like a delay will finally move into his timing. Everything will fall into place; all the closed doors and the waiting will finally make sense.
Journaling for the week
What are you going to choose to trust God with this week, even though you do not have the answer yet?
While you wait, what is a promise from God that you can hold onto?
A guided prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
You know how the waiting has been. Even though I do not understand why this is taking so long, I choose to keep trusting you.
Please help me to stop trying to make things happen in my timing and surrender to Your timing instead.
Let my waiting produce perseverance, character and hope, and teach me to trust You even when I cannot see what You are doing.
Amen.
Further Bible study
A faith action for the week
Worship song of the week
— Alice