What are you waiting on today?
The caption caught my attention as I scrolled through my Instagram feed.
I had been in a season of waiting for what felt like a very long time. When I left the country for a few months I thought that season was finally over. But as soon as I returned home, any forward motion screeched to a halt. I felt like I was back at square one.
As I read that Instagram caption, several answers to the question crossed my mind. Waiting for a new job, for answers to prayer, for direction.
What was I not waiting on?
Instinctively, I stopped scrolling and tapped Kelly Needham’s post to read more. It continued:
“If you’re anything like me, your answer probably wasn’t God.”
… Ouch.
Kelly Needham went on preaching truth to my soul.
The unfortunate reality is that we are all prone to wait on (and hope in) many other things besides God. We habitually wait on a change in circumstances, more money, a person, or an opportunity as solutions to our problems.
It doesn’t come naturally to wait on God. Waiting on God is a spiritual discipline that must be cultivated, not something we can expect will happen automatically. […]
It’s so tempting to wait on anything but God. Like the psalmist, we need daily reminders to again set our hope on the living God!
So, what are you tempted to wait for today? What do you believe will be a reliable solution to your current circumstances? […]
“When ________________ then I’ll be happier/whole/complete.” What we put in the blank is likely what we’re waiting on and hoping in.
But the only one who can occupy that blank and actually fulfill those promises for lasting joy, true restoration, and significance is Jesus.
So wait on the Lord today. Set your hope on him and look to him today.
(read Kelly’s entire post here)
I needed that reminder. After reading it, I closed Instagram and opened my Bible app to Psalm 62.
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
Selah (5-8)
As Kelly pointed out, waiting on God does not come naturally for us. It is a spiritual discipline we must cultivate.
Many times, I’ve thought and said I’m waiting on God when in reality I had no idea what that even meant.
Through this extended season of waiting God has taught me a few lessons about what it means to wait on Him and how to cultivate a heart that waits for Him alone.
1. Waiting on God means REST
When we wait on God alone, we stop trying to make things happen in our own way at our own time.
Let me say that again – we stop trying to make things happen.
This involves both physical rest and spiritual rest.
First, resting on God requires us to be still and stop in the midst of our busy lives.
I have found that, especially in seasons of waiting, it’s so easy to distract myself with information, events, and general busyness so I don’t have to think about what I’m waiting for.
When I do this, I’m not actually waiting on God. I’m not going to Him to just spend time with Him. I’m not resting in the knowledge that He is God and I am not.
Waiting on God requires us to take time away from our busyness to be still before Him.
Second, resting on God is working out of God’s grace. Grace is so much more than God’s undeserved favour in saving sinners. It’s also His enabling power to live the Christian life.
Rest doesn’t always mean we sit still. Rather, it means we depend on God’s power to do God’s work, in God’s way, and in God’s timing.
How to Cultivate Rest
It is really hard for me to rest. And I have a hunch I’m not the only one with this problem. \
We live in a culture that values staying busy and relies on caffeine to make it through each day.
Resting on God is not easy for most of us. However, as I’ve walked through this season of waiting, I’ve come to realize how crucial rest is for the Christian.
As someone who loves lists and schedules, I’ve found it helpful to actually schedule times of stillness into my week and day. Times when I can get alone with God and seek Him.
I’ve also found gaining a Biblical understanding of the grace of God and how grace actually works in a Christian’s life absolutely crucial.
There is no way I could work or wait joyfully and faithfully without understanding and applying God’s grace to my life.
I can’t encourage you enough to grow in your understanding of this topic. Even if you think you understand it, God’s grace can always be more fully understood and applied to our lives.
Some of my favourite resources on understanding the grace of God are the articles on setapartgirl.com and the books “Indwelling Life of Christ” by Major Ian Thomas, and “Abide in Christ” by Andrew Murray.
2. Waiting on God means SILENCE
To wait on God is to be silent before Him.
The Psalmist said, “My soul waits silently for God alone.”
We can and should come to Christ with our burdens and frustrations. In fact, we are commanded to pour our hearts out to the Lord.
So waiting silently doesn’t mean we stop bringing our needs before the Lord.
But when you pray, are you then resting in the promise that He hears your prayer and knows your situation? Are you surrendering your desires to Him and accepting His plan and purpose for your life? Are you keeping your eyes open for God (not His answer), looking to Him for satisfaction, fulfillment, contentment, and joy?
There are times to persist in prayer and there are times to be silent and allow the reality of who God is to overwhelm and awe you.
When I need wisdom I’ve found it is often found in the silence. When God gives me a definitive “wait and see what I will do” or “no” I need to accept that by silencing my petitions and looking to Him.
Silence is foreign to our generation. We are constantly surrounded by information, music, and notifications. Because of this, it can feel uncomfortable to be still and silent.
But I’ve found that time still and silent before the Lord is actually a blessing! It has deepened my relationship with Jesus, sharpened my ability to discern His voice, and expanded the insight I gain in reading His word. When I don’t make times of silence before the Lord a priority confusion, anxiety, and stress often overwhelm me.
How to Cultivate Silence
One of the most helpful practices I implemented in my life over the past three months is the practice of stillness.
Here’s what that looks like for me.
During the week, I used to listen to media constantly. If I was driving, I had a podcast on. While I was getting ready in the morning, I was listening to music.
Instead, I’ve started taking advantage of the ten-minute drive to and from work to be still and know that Jesus is God. No podcast. No music.
Once a week, I try to schedule 1-2 hours where I can just be still and quiet before God.
In these times I don’t come with an agenda. This is completely separate from the time I spend reading the Bible or praying for needs in my life.
I come simply to spend time with my Lord.
This isn’t a kind of meditation where I empty my mind. Instead, I fill my mind with scripture during these times of stillness because that is the primary way God communicates with us. I pray because that’s how we talk to God. I sing, give thanks, and remember all He has done and is doing in my life. I ask Him questions.
I’d suggest you start by carving out ten minutes each day or an hour each week to be still from all the noise and voices of our culture and simply know that He is God.
3. Waiting on God means EAGER EXPECTATION & CONFIDENCE
To wait on God is to expect Him to fulfill His promise. To have confidence in Him.
It’s the opposite of what Abraham did.
God promised Abraham he would have a son. Abraham believed God’s promise initially but as years went by and his wife Sarah wasn’t getting pregnant he started to doubt.
After years of waiting, he gave up his confidence in God’s promise and stopped eagerly expecting Sarah to become pregnant. Instead, he took his bondservant Hagar and had a son with her.
More years went by and finally, God did fulfill His promise to Abraham. Sarah bore him a son.
Abraham had waited. But his waiting wasn’t on God alone. He was also waiting on his wife. When she became too old, he turned to another woman thinking he could help God out.
To wait on God is to have absolute confidence that He will come through, to eagerly look for Him to fulfill His promise.
How to Cultivate Eager Expectation & Confidence
The only way we can expectantly and confidently wait on God, even if He delays for years, is to know Him intimately.
Get to know God. Spend time reading His word. Memorize His promises.
When you’re tempted to doubt, remind yourself of His faithfulness.
Journaling is another great way to cultivate this discipline. When I witness God’s faithfulness in my life, I write it down. When I’m tempted to doubt God’s promises or to give up waiting, I go back and reread those journal entries. When I read how faithful God has been to me in the past, it gives me the strength to continue to wait on Him in the present.
A Command for Your Soul
Waiting on God isn’t easy. It doesn’t come naturally to us.
Even David and the prophets didn’t find it easy. That’s why over and over again they are found commanding their souls to wait on God.
“I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” (Psalm 27:13-14)
“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
“Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for You, since You have made all these.” (Jeremiah 14:22)
We must discipline our souls to do the same. Let us join the writers of scripture in commanding our souls to wait on God alone.
Let’s simply wait on Jesus, not on Him plus a relationship, job, or change.
Simply on Jesus.
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- Are you in a season of waiting?
- What part of waiting do you find the hardest?
- How can you begin to practically cultivate the discipline of waiting on God today?