When you’re waiting on God for an answer, for direction, for a change, it feels like you’re just being lazy. Shouldn’t you do something when you need an answer from God? Isn’t there something you can do to speed up God’s response? It’s frustrating. But sometimes you just have to.
Wait.
Here’s what my friend Webster says in his word book: wait verb \ˈwāt\
: to stay in a place until an expected event happens, until someone arrives, until it is your turn to do something, etc.
: to not do something until something else happens.
: to remain in a state in which you expect or hope that something will happen soon.
It’s kind of funny that the word wait is a verb. It doesn’t feel like a verb when we are … waiting. But so often we find ourselves doing the action of waiting. Waiting for that answer. Waiting for the medical report to tell us we are okay. Waiting for our finances to shape up to where we can say we are debt-free. Waiting for that child. Waiting for that someone. Waiting on God. Waiting for ________ insert your word(s) here.
I believe there’s a direct correlation between waiting and faith. Faith is listed as a noun. But I believe true faith, like waiting, is an action. Check out this verse:
God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I need comes from him,
so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I’m set for life.
Psalm 62:1-2 MSG
I’m impatient. I don’t like to wait. I don’t like waiting on that slow person in front of me when I’m in a hurry, and I sure don’t like waiting on God to answer my prayers sometimes. But you see, God sees our whole story, the whole book. We see a page. While we’re waiting, we can exercise (action) our faith. Seek God. Is waiting on God just a Christian way to be lazy? No. You see, truly waiting on God, trusting Him, and pursuing His direction isn’t being lazy. It can actually be one of the most active ways to walk out our faith.
So whatever it is that you put in the blank above, start the action of seeking God, having faith, doing the things that only you can do, and then trusting God to do what only He can do. Here’s to growing in your faith while you … wait.
