Thoughts on Waiting
Today I’ve been inspired by some thoughts on waiting and I want to share them with you. May they encourage you on your faith journey as well! We who have hope in Christ are able to wait because we know God is good all the time.
For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees? But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure. (Romans 8:24-25, AMP,*)
John Ortberg writes “biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.” How true. We are not to rush before God. We are to wait on God’s timing and God’s ways to do things. This is what surrender means: it’s not me but Jesus in and through me who lives is me.
As Spurgeon points out, there is always a reason why God makes us wait. Making us wait is never the goal itself but means to achieve something greater in us. “If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people.”
When we see waiting as a natural part of Christians life, it somehow gets easier. Especially when we remember we are never alone, God is always with us. Even when it feels like God is delaying something. But even for that God has our best interest on his heart.
With the words of George Macdonald: “He may delay because it would not be safe to give us at once what we ask: we are not ready for it. To give ere we could truly receive, would be to destroy the very heart and hope of prayer, to cease to be our Father. The delay itself may work to bring us nearer to our help, to increase the desire, perfect the prayer, and ripen the receptive condition.”
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:26-28, MSG,*)
These quotes made me feel that I can do some more waiting. God is in control of my life. I can trust him and lean on him when I don’t understand. I can praise him for knowing what’s best for me now and forever. That makes me feel very special. I am in God’s hands and there’s no other place I’d rather be.
Thank you for taking care of us.
Thank you for being in control of our lives.
May Your will happen in our lives.
Let nothing hinder it.
Give us patience to wait.
Bless us according to our needs.
In Jesus’ name,
Q4U: What are your thoughts on waiting?
Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you joyfully wait on God’s timing!
* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]
Image courtesy of picmonkey.com, design Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Faith-filled Fridays, Five Minute Friday, and Faith Barista.
10 thoughts on “Thoughts on Waiting”
waiting w/u, sis<3 HE gives exactly what we need & all the while we'r privileged to know Him more & more :)))
xox~~~HAPPY FRIDAY BLESSINGS~~~xox Crystal
Exactly! We are so blessed in Him! Have a blessed weekend, my friend. May God surround you with his love and grace!
thx, my dear, sweet sis, & friend!
Love & Grace r abounding thru HIM<3
enJOY the wknd~~~
Thank you! <3 You too!
Thank you for these wise words on waiting. To be a follower does mean to live a life of waiting. But the fruit that comes from our waiting – glorious! Visiting from FMF.
Glorious indeed! Thank so much, Debbie, for visiting and commenting. Abundant blessings!
Oh,waiting for God is such a difficult thing. There are a few things I have and continue to wait on Him for, as I hope and pray for His will to be done. Thanks for sharing these uplifting quotes…I really like the one by John Ortberg !
Blessings, Ann @ Christ in the Clouds
I agree: waiting is difficult but it really is part of the process of becoming who God made us to be. Thanks for stopping by, Ann, and sharing your thoughts on waiting. May God bless you richly as you press on and wait on Him!
Super hard sometimes… But thank you for sharing these words.
Yes, it can be. Thankfully, we have help from above. Thanks so much. God bless you richly!