Faith in the Waiting

There are few things that irritate us more than having to wait. We do not like to wait in today’s society. Yet, we are waiting all the time. We wait in traffic, we wait to fall asleep, we wait on responses to emails, or even waiting for a mate and the list goes on and on. What are some things that you are waiting on?

Waiting is a part of life as well as a part of character development

Waiting is a part of life as well as a part of character development. There are some things that can only be learned in the waiting. These very same things cannot be learned any other way. Have you ever been in a hurry for something when God was not? Or have you ever asked God for something, and your answer was, wait?

In November of 2020 I asked God about something. I wanted to know if my season was over in a particular area where I was serving. And do you know what my answer was? It was “WAIT”. Not wait until the following year or wait for another 6 months. Just simply, WAIT.

Did you know that waiting is the act of staying or remaining in expectation?  I heard one Pastor, say it this way, to wait is to be actively expecting. And expectation has a lot to do with FAITH!

There are spiritual and natural applications of standing on God’s Word that I’d like to share with you as it pertains to “Faith, in the waiting.” These applications assist us in knowing that we are complete and confident, while positioning ourselves to receive the PROMISES of God, in the waiting…

Psalm 37:4-7 The Passion Translation

“Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and he will give you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly! He will appear as your righteousness, as sure as the dawning of a new day. He will manifest as your justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun. Quiet your heart in his presence and wait patiently for Yahweh. And don’t think for a moment that the wicked, in their prosperity, are better off than you.“

This doesn’t mean the Lord will give us whatever we want, but it is saying that when we trust in the Lord, He will put His desires in our heart. This is one of the simplest and most prevalent ways of receiving direction from the Lord.

37:4 – The word delight was translated from the Hebrew word “ANAG”, and it means “to become soft or tender.” To be pliable, flexible.

37:7 – The Hebrew word “QAVAH”, which was translated “wait” means “to bind together” “by twisting” Do not discount the waiting. We fulfill the desires of God’s heart when we have faith, believe, and trust HIM.           

We know that faith is real. It is substance and evidence. It is just substance and evidence of things that cannot be seen, but they do exist.

Hebrews 11:1 (AMPC) “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”

Faith is proof! It is something you cannot perceive with your 5 senses. Faith involves waiting. Have you ever considered how those commended in the Bible for their faith learned the practice of waiting? We just read verse 1 of Hebrews 11 but pay close attention to how long these faith heroes waited, and you’re sure to see the connection between faith and waiting.

• Noah had faith (Hebrews 11:7), and he waited 100 years for it to rain-in the meantime he got busy and built a boat.
• Abraham had faith (Hebrews 11:8), and he waited until he was 100 years old before his wife gave birth to the of promise: Isaac.
• Sarah had faith (Hebrews 11:11), and she waited until she was way past the child-bearing years before her arms cradled her son.
• Moses had faith (Hebrews 11:23), and he waited, shepherding sheep in Midian for 40 years, before God sent him back to Egypt to free his fellow Israelites.

Perhaps your present circumstances require some waiting:

• For that lab report to come in
• For a prodigal to return home
• For the repentance of spouse
• For a child to be born

The waiting period can be a faith-building period if you and I learn to trust God through it. Waiting gives us the opportunity to look ahead for what God will ultimately do on our behalf. So I say to you READY, SET, and by FAITH….WAIT!!!

Some people have mistakenly thought faith is believing that something is real when it really isn’t and if we believe it hard and long enough, it will become real. That is not accurate. Faith gives substance to what we hope for. No hope = no faith. Hope is like a thermostat. It’s not the power unit, but it controls the power unit.

As we are waiting, we need to wait with a good attitude. We are interested in the destination, but God is interested in the journey.

We live in a microwave society, but we serve a crockpot God! There is so much developed in the waiting process. We must be the best right where we are.

Psalm 27:14 (NKJV) “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!“

Wait defined: stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens.

Isaiah 40:31 shows us that the youngest and strongest will faint. But those who look to the Lord for their strength will NEVER faint. They will draw on the limitless strength of the Lord. I believe that the word “wait” here isn’t speaking about “waiting”, like we wait for a bus; meaning, that we just sit idle, waiting for the Lord to come through for us. But rather it is waiting like a waiter or waitress. Good waiters or waitresses are constantly looking after their customers, wanting to meet their every need.  As we seek the Lord, looking to Him for all our needs and direction, He will replace our strength with His.

David waited 13 years to take the thrown after the prophet Samuel anointed him to be king. While you are in the waiting be your best right where you are. If what you’re praying about isn’t changing, then God is using that situation to change you.

In my season of waiting for my Boaz, there were a few Bozos that came along. And I remember one day I was praying and crying and having a pity party and the Holy Spirit asked me this, “Are you done yet”. I blew my nose and said yes, I’m done, and He said, Trust Me. I changed my attitude, adjusted my crown (because I am the daughter of the King, I am royalty).

At the time, my situation didn’t seem to be changing in the natural. Not according to my 5 senses that is….but in the end I did meet my Boaz! 😊

We need to not only trust the ways of God, and the word of God, but we must also trust His timing.

Blessings given at the wrong time are not a blessing at all, they can be a burden. Sometimes God proves His love to us by what He’s not letting us have. We may see it as rejection but sometimes it is protection. It does not mean that we are never going to have a particular thing or dream, it just means that we need to spend more time in the “wait” room growing, developing, and gaining experience. Learning to trust God, learning to forgive, or learning to keep a good attitude when things are not going our way. The sooner we pass these tests the sooner God will release what belongs to us.

The prodigal son wanted his prepared blessing, but the problem was that he was unprepared. He could not sustain the weight of what God had in store for him.

Luke 15:11-13 (NKJV) “Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So, he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.“

Waiting is a test, and God is preparing you for the Blessing that He has for you. How many times have you heard; preparation time is never wasted time. Well, know this as well delay is not denial.

Why do we even have to have faith in the waiting? Because it’s in the season of waiting where the greatest growth can take place in us and in our faith if we only hold on to hope of what is on the other side of what God is orchestrating. Faith in God includes faith in His timing as I said earlier! God is NEVER early. NEVER late. And He is ALWAYS right on time. We must pause and remember what is TRUE….God’s promises in HIS word are true! The word is full of power!

Romans 15:4 (ESV) “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.“

One of the most obvious pieces of evidence of faith is how you respond to the waiting rooms of life. How long can you wait? That’s a mark of maturity right there. And children, well of course, they have a hard time waiting…..They have not learned the difference between “NO” and “NOT YET”. If you tell them “NOT YET”, they think that means it’s not going to happen. But as we get older, we learn that’s not the case.

My mother use to always say to me, girl you have the patience of Job! When I was younger, I didn’t really understand what she meant by that but as I grew older, I believe that she was referring to my faith. Not only having faith but my ability to trust God no matter what I faced. I have sense found this acronym for F.A.I.T.H.

F – Forsaking

A – All

I – I                                                                             

T – Trust

H – HIM

In God’s plan, timing is so crucial. Many times, it may be the right thing, but it’s just the wrong time. You must pray about it and seek God to find out is this a God idea or simply a good idea? You don’t want to get behind God, and you don’t want to get ahead of God. You want to be in His time because God’s timing is perfect in your job, in your marriage, in your education, in your retirement, in an answer to prayer—in every area of your life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMPC) “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”

What do I mean by that? Well let me ask you this, what do we gain by not following and trusting God’s word? We must proclaim the truth that we know, which is in the word of God. Fear comes when we don’t trust God. Fear is a faith stealer. It produces intimidation and we know that fear, doubt, confusion, condemnation, all comes from the enemy. But Jesus said that I come that you may have life and that you may have it MORE ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10)!!!

Philippians 1:6 (AMPC) “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.“

Confidence: full trust; trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing:

Trust: Firm reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; Confident expectation of something; hope.

Hope is future tense….it is based on a promise from God!

The secret to having great faith in the waiting….is to magnify the word of GOD!

Romans 4:17-21 (KJV) “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.“

Psalm 138:2 (NKJV) “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.“

In Matthew 8:5-13 is the account of Jesus healing the Centurion’s servant. The servant said “I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But speak the word only and my servant will be healed.”

We may feel like we’re being whirled around by our circumstances when we’re in a season of waiting, but in the end, our season of waiting gives birth to greater things. As it says in Psalm 37:7 in TPT, “Quiet your heart in his presence and wait patiently”…Do not discount the waiting. Our confidence isn’t in us, it’s in God! Be confident in the word of God and His promises. He began a good work in you, and He knows the thoughts that He thinks toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end! God is FAITHFUL.

The more you spend time with the FATHER in relationship with Him, you begin to know HIS character and His true nature. God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

• Faith is real. It is the assurance of things we hope for.
• Development is happening in the waiting. Be your best right where you are.
• Delay is not denial. What are you doing in the waiting? Praise Him, Serve Him, Worship Him…it’s about what you do when you wait.
• The secret to having great faith in the waiting….is to magnify the word of GOD!
• To wait is to be actively expecting…..What are you expecting!!!

Habakkuk 2:3 (NKJV)  “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.“

Say this out loud: Faith moves me….God is compelled by his love for me to move on my behalf. When I are strong in faith, I give Glory to God. Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation. In the waiting I will not focus on what I cannot do or what I do not have. Instead, I will focus on what God has promised me in His word and trust HIS timing.

Prayer: I will trust in God’s timing. For it is far better to wait a while and have things fall into place, then to rush and have things fall apart.