Have you been waiting for God to answer questions about your vocation or career? Have you applied for a big college scholarship and are trying hard to entrust the unknown outcome to the Lord? Are you waiting to meet your future husband? Are you waiting for clarity on a health issue\u2014yours or a loved one\u2019s?<\/p>\n
Throughout life, there are many seasons of waiting.<\/p>\n
These seasons are an invitation from the Lord to trust His will, His timing, and His promise of faithfulness to flourish in our lives.<\/p>\n
Some years ago, already well into my vocation as wife and mother, I yearned for something God had planted in my heart years beforehand: the seeds of my heart\u2019s desire. And I wondered if they would ever bloom.<\/p>\n
Then, an amazing opportunity came my way. It was a dream come true. I was so excited, and I couldn\u2019t wait to dive in.<\/p>\n
But soon afterward, it became quite obvious that the project itself, as well as the timing of it, were not quite right. I had no peace about it, and anxiety overwhelmed me. At my very core, I knew God was asking me to wait.<\/p>\n
At first, I was very disappointed.<\/p>\n
Wait, Lord? Why? This is my heart\u2019s desire!<\/i><\/p>\n
But in reality, some health issues had worn me down. And God knew I could not add one more thing to my plate.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s prompting to wait gave me a profound amount of courage and grace to turn down the project.<\/p>\n
And while my heart\u2019s desire remained, I settled into a season of waiting.<\/p>\n
Often when we think of waiting, we assume it is a waste of time. Like the type of waiting that happens in a long checkout line or in traffic. That type of waiting is filled with anxiety. We want to be anywhere but in the waiting.<\/p>\n
Waiting for God, however, is a completely different type of waiting, because it is not meaningless or idle. Rather, this waiting has purpose; it is active. It is a personal invitation from Jesus to come to Him and be attentive to what He is doing within us while we wait.<\/p>\n
When we wait for God, of course we are hopeful about what we are waiting for. But there is something good and desirable in the waiting itself.<\/p>\n
Yes, sometimes God has to do something\u00a0within<\/i>\u00a0us before He can do something\u00a0for<\/i>\u00a0us.<\/p>\n
For in the silence and stillness of our waiting, He comforts and consoles us. He brings us peace in the quiet of our hearts. He whispers what we need to hear.<\/p>\n
If we can settle into the waiting, we realize that the waiting no longer seems unbearable.<\/p>\n
Because we are not waiting alone. We are waiting\u00a0with<\/i>.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s invitation to wait gifts us with a closeness to\u2014a \u201cbeing with\u201d\u2014God that is truly worthwhile. In the waiting, we can pour our hearts out to Him. And we can listen to His message of love, mercy, peace, and hope\u2014the message we may only hear while we wait.<\/p>\n