Have you ever had to wait for something for a very long time? Are you still waiting even now? Waiting is so hard, isn’t it?
Every period of waiting carries its own weight.
It might feel like a ton of bricks and manifest as hopelessness that anything will ever come from the waiting. It may not weigh you down in any dramatic way, but the longer the waiting goes on, doubt that any divine intervention is going to come can dwindle away any remaining hope. But, what if we were to look at waiting as a time to strengthen our trust in God’s goodness? How can we not waste the waiting? Many times in the Bible, God put His chosen people in particular places and on particular paths where waiting was essential to test their trust in Him as a good God, faithful to deliver on what He has promised.
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to those who seek Him. Lamentations 3:25
Waiting on the LORD with patient endurance strengthens our trust in Him as a good God.
One of these chosen people was Sarah, the wife of Abraham, a woman very familiar with the weight of waiting. Her story is found in Genesis 12-21. For her, the weightiness was measured in hopelessness found in the failure to conceive a child. Year after year, she remained childless, perhaps crying out with the question, “Why me, LORD?” Have you ever found yourself uttering those very words? I know I have.
Not all of us can relate to barrenness, but I’m sure we all can relate to feelings of hopelessness. But here is some good news! In the Bible, hope is defined as the confident expectation that God will fulfill what He has promised. And because God is so good, He ALWAYS fulfills His promises. God did deliver on His promise and at the right time, Sarah delivered her and Abraham’s son Isaac. They had to wait much longer than they thought they would have to, and they, unfortunately, made the mistake of taking things into their own hands, which caused big problems, but God kept His promise and they experienced His goodness.
Even if waiting makes us feel hopeless, God’s goodness can keep us from living hopelessly.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
There are many good things that can happen during the waiting. What if we were to look at waiting as essential to strengthening our dependence on God, our trust in God, and our obedience to God?
If we enter waiting as an opportunity to grow in these areas, then we will be able to experience God’s goodness even in the waiting and live in hope.
- In the waiting, we can grow in our dependence on God for patience, endurance, and joy.
- In the waiting, we can grow in our trust in God that He has a plan and the perfect timing for the fulfillment of that plan.
- In the waiting, we can grow in our obedience to God by resisting the temptation to take matters into our own hands, relying on our own solutions and plans.
So friend, know that I understand the hardship and hopeless feelings that waiting can bring, but I also know that even in the waiting, God is good, because God does not waste a thing!
Reclaiming our Focus on the Goodness of God Together,
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