Waiting…such a dreadful word at times, whether it’s for a personal situation such as a spouse, a child, or a diagnosis or perhaps a season of the professional life awaiting a promotion, new leadership, or changing responsibilities. Regardless of the reasons we are called upon to wait, they can be challenging and frustrating, almost as if someone hit the pause button on our life. (Can it still be called a button if there is nothing to push, you are just touching a screen?) Whatever season of life you happen to find yourself, you can be guaranteed, you will be asked to wait.
If I am allowed to be transparent here (and no one is the room right now to stop me), someone hit the pause button on my dating life back in the late 1990s and it got stuck! Just so you understand the relevance of this imagery and my personal desire to move away from this season of waiting; take a peek at the titles of my reading selection-Wait and See, I Don’t Wait Anymore, Until Love Finds You, Seasons of Waiting, Missing Pieces, and believe it or not, Stuck! So, if the personal reading selection doesn’t provide insight into how I really feel about waiting, please read on!
Your season of waiting will probably not be connected to a marital status but name a personal struggle and replace it where I discuss a waiting season of singleness. We all live in anticipation of some event, and the typical American milestones that define adulthood will be addressed at a later time, but whatever in your life is occurring where God may have hit the pause button, I recommend you cling to Him. Wendy Pope in Wait and See shares, “You might be asking, ‘How can waiting bring about sweet encounters with God? It doesn’t feel sweet’…The anxiety over your future will change to living peacefully in God’s pauses as you wait for Him to fulfill His plans.”
Being honest, I am not a peaceful wait-er! As considered in Beyond the Headlights, I desire to know what’s coming. “Waiters are to linger where they are, doing what they know how to do until they receive instructions…we want a FastPass straight through God’s pauses to move directly into His plan,” shares Pope. Because of what He shares in His Word, I know the wisdom in waiting on God to tell me where to walk but my preference is the FastPass! Waiting becomes more peaceful when I’m involved in just doing something, taking action to help God along as I “tell” Him what I desire.
Foolish, woman! God created the desires of my heart and He knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11), so why is it so frustrating and difficult and agonizing to surrender it all to Him? What would be so wrong with “mapping out His plan for [me] in a colorful PowerPoint presentation?” I like visuals, I relish maps! I’m fairly competent at following directions. But my Lord says, “Oh, Julie, if I map it out for you then you won’t have faith in me, and you will be settling for so much less than I desire for you!”
On this pilgrimage to a flourishing life, I’m accepting that God did not promise anywhere in Scripture that I would find a husband, have children, and live the typical American dream, and I regret when my faith wavers. Pope outlines several obstacles we face when waiting including:
- Wavering thoughts – “One day I am fully convinced of God’s ability to bring me through my wait; the next day, I wonder if the wait will ever end…I bounce between resting and wondering.”
- Fear – “…picture our known God standing face to face with us in our unknown…How much easier would our longer route be if we pictured this when fear creeps into our thoughts?”
- Self – “…inwardly I pouted and argued with God…learn to truly celebrate others’ successes.”
Admittedly, I do not sit around every day pondering my waiting season; however, when I do waver, fear, or doubt, I would be wise to lean into the habits that have allowed me to flourish at life so far. Habits such as prayer, reading His Word, fasting from social media, listening to wise counsel, and focusing on the relationships around me. Taking the focus off myself, before I send out the invitations to the pity party, allows me to trust in Someone far wiser than myself. Pope mentions, “trusting God is a lifestyle” and not a drop down menu where we select only the happy, perfect moments. As we are reminded in Ecclesiastes 3, there are seasons “for everything, a time for every activity under Heaven” and waiting can be a season where God teaches us patience, perseverance, and praise. Rather than focusing on the waiting to be over, how different my attitude is when my focus is shifted to “having a thriving [flourishing] intimacy with God.”
My hope is you will feel compelled to share how you managed to flourish in a season of waiting. What resources did you discover worthwhile in the wait-Scripture, mentors, activities, or other support? Please share in the comments below.
Flourishing @ Life 
There were years when I was waiting and felt very left out and overlooked. Forgotten by God. Even punished without knowing why. I don’t dismiss the possibility of a marital status change even now, but I have reframed my life. Perhaps I am kept single for a reason that will only come into view further down the road. Way down the road. But even more, we can relate more to Jesus who was also single. I can only assume he too would have loved a “normal” life in his humanness. But in his diety, he contended with his father’s will. I try my best to do the same. ❤️
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Wow. This article truly speaks to my life! So many times in my life I feel like I am waiting and waiting and wondering what God has for my life. Currently, I am still waiting to see if God will do a radical thing in my brother’s life, but you are so right that when we wait, we have to train ourselves with disciplines like reading the word or praying or focusing on the things around me. I think that making these a firm habit in my life would help me know what to do when I start questioning God and reminding myself that he has a plan!
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I loved your transparency throughout this article and could completely relate! Personally, I am currently in a season of waiting to see what comes next. For the past 15 or so years, I have had my life mapped out, and now, it’s all a complete unknown. Like you said, it is common for me to just want a “FastPass” through the waiting. I love to plan. I love to be in control. I love to know what’s coming next. So, for me to have to wait in the unknown can be a bit unnerving. However, you gave some great advise and encouragement on how to flourish where I am. When I take the focus of myself and place it on someone wiser and more faithful than anyone, I am given great peace.
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I loved your transparency throughout this article and could completely relate! Personally, I am currently in a season of waiting to see what comes next. For the past 15 or so years, I have had my life mapped out, and now, it’s all a complete unknown. Like you said, it is common for me to just want a “FastPass” through the waiting. I love to plan. I love to be in control. I love to know what’s coming next. So, for me to have to wait in the unknown can be a bit unnerving. However, you gave some great advice and encouragement on how to flourish where I am. When I take the focus off myself and place it on someone wiser and more faithful than anyone, I am given great peace.
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This is a fantastic topic you’ve talked about. I have never thought about how God, in his infinite grace and mercy, will hit pause on our ventures. Not to hold back a blessing from us, but to hold it back for us. This would mean that, while we are waiting, we should not be stagnant in our growth. We ought to continue to search our hearts and work on ourselves, so that when we are ready, God will send the blessings our way, and keep us from squandering them. What a perfect God, to know exactly what we need to get or complete before we are ready for the next thing he has in store for us.
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This article speaks to my life in so many ways. I always catch myself dwelling on the future, so waiting is hard for me to do. Not knowing exactly what God has planned for my future has caused stress, sleepless nights, and even tears. However, this season of my life, that hold so many unknowns, has pushed me to lean more into God’s word and trust in his timing. I am so thankful to be surrounded by a community of fellow believers that have and continue to encourage me to rely on God and believing that he has a perfect plan for my life.
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I have previously thought about the future and what is in store for me and sometimes I worried about it. The Unknown can be scary and the unpredictability can make you feel on edge. However, when you realize that God has a plan for you then you need to trust in him and his timing on this to happen. Some of the hardest times to wait are in time of need, but you need to trust in Gods plan, and when it is ready it will be implemented.
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I’m not going to lie. I didn’t expect to feel anything while reading this post, but the opposite happened. I struggle with fear and anxiety sometimes, and it can be so hard to “let go and let God”. However, the one thing that has NEVER failed me in my anxious moments is the peace that the Lord promises me. When I was waiting to hear back about job interviews and whether or not I got the job, I found myself confined to my room thinking and thinking and thinking when I needed to be reading and praying and worshipping. I get through my fear of waiting through prayer and worship music. I wish I could say that reading scripture helps me more than anything, but sometimes, reading is when I think the most. It makes no sense, but that’s when Satan tries to distract my thoughts from Christ. Unfortunately, he wins sometimes. Even though I fall to distraction and worry, I know in my heart, soul, and mind that the Lord is good and He promises us hope and a future.
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This is so true to life and I enjoyed reading it! Applying for pharmacy school, I was just waiting. At first, I was not focusing any time on God, except for whenever I was asking why I wasn’t hearing back from anyone. I never stopped to just praise God for the opportunity I had to be able to even apply for pharmacy school. I ended up praying more and reading scripture. I just had to put my faith in God and the waiting felt so much easier. We need to realize that everything is on God’s timeline, and that might not always match our own. We just need to trust that the Lord provides, because he always does!
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