Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

 

Waiting on God refers to the act of patiently trusting in God’s timing, wisdom, and plan. Especially during times of uncertainty or difficulty. It involves surrendering one’s desires and expectations to God’s will, trusting that He will provide the right answers. And that God will provide the the direction or intervention that we need at the perfect time.

This concept is often associated with spiritual growth, relying on faith and perseverance, and maintaining hope while waiting for God. It is about acknowledging that God’s plans and timing may differ from our own and choosing to trust Him fully, regardless of how long it takes.

 

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Waiting On God

Waiting on God is not easy for most people. Especially when you are waiting for God to deliver you or help you in difficult circumstances. There are times in our life when God does not respond immediately to our prayers. Or to our cries for help. It may seem that God is not aware of your difficulties, or that He is not going to respond. These times can be confusing. And it may even seem like God is far away, or just plain not listening.

Fortunately we have some insight and guidance in God’s word to help us during the difficult times we have when we need to wait on God. There are some examples in the Bible of other people’s struggles with God not responding immediately to their prayers. And having to wait on Him for deliverance or help. In Part 1 of this series on Waiting On God we will look at some of these examples.

The story of Lazarus (John 11)

“Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” – John 11:1-6

These verses say that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. But when Lazarus was very ill, Jesus did not go immediately to help Lazarus. It was confusing as to why Jesus did not go to help his beloved friend immediately.

In fact Jesus purposely waited until Lazarus died, and then he went to them. You could understand why some people would think “What kind of friend is this ?”. They must have thought “why would you wait, if you loved us ?”. Imagine your thoughts and feelings if you were in that situation.

Your feelings & emotions and thoughts would not have been the truth about the situation, or about what Jesus was doing. Our emotions & feelings, and what we think we see in circumstances are usually not the truth about what is happening. Or about what God is doing in and through the situation. Often times our emotions and what we see are deceiving.

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Mary’s Reaction

Here was Mary’s reaction:  Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled.  – John 11:32-33

Jesus’ reaction to Mary’s words shows how much He cares for them (and for us). He was deeply moved and troubled by their sorrow.

But Jesus had something different in mind for this situation than Martha and Mary did. They thought he would come immediately and heal Lazarus. Like He had healed so many before.

Instead Jesus waited until Lazarus died, and then raised him from the dead. The result was that God and Jesus were greatly glorified. And ultimately many people believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

“Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.” – John 11:45

 

God Is God And We Are Not

God is God, and we are not. He does not do things the way we would do them. Or the way we think He should do them.

God even tells us this in His word: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts”. – Isaiah 55:8-9

Even though waiting on God is difficult, we must learn to trust God, especially in difficult circumstances. Especially when we do not understand at all what He is doing. Or when He appears to not care about us. Or when it appears like He is not listening to our prayers or is not going to answer. Going through these circumstances helps to strengthen our faith in the Lord. And it leads to a powerful personal experience of God’s faithfulness, power, and wisdom.

 

Biblical Examples of People Who Had to Wait On God

There are many other examples in the Bible of people who went through the experience of waiting on God. In some cases they needed to wait many years before God responded to their prayers or cries for help. Or they had to wait for something that God had promised.

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Job

Job suffered more than most people would ever have to suffer in their life. For a long time God never answered Job’s prayers. And it left him feeling sorry for himself and very confused. Yet he never walked away from God.

“Oh, that I had someone to hear me ! I sign now my defense-let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.”  – Job 31:35

Finally God did answer Job. “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know…” (Job 38:1 to Job 40:1 and Job 40:6 to Job 41:34)

Job was humbled by the suffering and by God’s rebuke. In the end Job knew God more intimately by experiencing Him in a real and personal way. Job said this about the experience: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” – Job 42:5-6

In the end God restored everything Job lost two-fold. But the greatest blessing for Job was that he had a deeper and more intimate knowledge and intimate fellowship with God. (Job 42:10-17)

Waiting On God – Joseph

Joseph is another good example of someone going through years of difficult circumstances before God rescued him. He went through 13 years of trials, suffering, and injustice. And that was after he was almost killed by his brothers and then sold into slavery by them.

But Joseph stayed faithful to God, despite having to wait a long time for God to deliver him. 13 years is a long time.

God used the 13 years to mold and shape Joseph into the servant He could use greatly. Ultimately Joseph was released from prison and made 2nd in command of all of Egypt. And God used him to preserve the lives of Joseph’s family and the lives of His people Israel.

Waiting On God -David

David went through 17 years of trials. 17 years of fleeing for his life from Saul and his enemies. And David had to wait 17 years from the time he was promised to be made king of Israel until the time he actually became the king.

In Psalm 13 David expressed his struggle of having to wait on God for His deliverance and help.

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? And how long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him, and my foes will rejoice when I fall.” – Psalm 13:1-4

At times David’s faith wavered, and he got tired of waiting for God. But he stayed faithful to God. And God used the years of struggles to mold and shape David to be a “man after God’s heart”.

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Abraham

Abraham had to wait 25 years until God fulfilled His promise of a son. His son Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old. 

God used that time to mold Abraham to be the faithful servant God wanted him to be. And to be the founding father of God’s people Israel.

 

Moses

Moses had to wait 40 years in the wilderness until God called him to deliver His people from Egypt. He probably thought that he had blown it years earlier when he killed an Egyptian for beating one of his fellow Israelites. And Moses had to flee to the wilderness, where he stayed for 40 years. 40 years is a long time to be int eh wilderness. Perhaps Moses thought that he would spend the rest of his life in the wilderness.

Imagine spending 40 years living in a wilderness after making a bad mistake. Most of us would think that God was done with us. But God had plans for Moses, and He used him in a great way. 

All of us make mistakes. Some of us make serious mistakes. But God wants to take our mistakes and use them to mold and shape us. So that we can become all that God wants us to be. And so that He can use us for His kingdom and for His glory.

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Our Wait to Serve God Full Time

In 1995 I prayed that God would allow me to serve Him full time. I had a strong desire to join God in His kingdom work, and prayed that He would use my wife Nancy and I. And you know what happened ? Nothing.

I continued to run my business, serve in our church, and kept seeking Him and working on my fellowship with Him. Then almost 9 years later, early in 2004, God began to speak into my heart that some day I would sell my business and use our own resources to serve Him.

It took another year and a half and a lot of prayer and time seeking God to discover what God’s plan and vision was. Then it took almost another year and a half to finally start serving full time. All in all I had to wait more than 11 years for the opportunity to serve God full time. And it ended up being very different than I thought it would be.

 

God’s Call to Missions

In June 2005 our oldest son John and I went on a mission trip with our church to Sao Paulo Brazil, and on that trip God spoke very clearly and strongly in my heart that we would serve Him as missionaries in Brazil. It took another 16 months to prepare for the move. We had to sell my business, get our permanent residence visa for Brazil, sell our house…

Our church in Marietta Georgia had a Brazilian church also, and God provided Portuguese classes for us for 9 months during this preparation time. God also gave me a very clear vision of what He wanted us to do in our missions ministry during this preparation time. It was a vision of what God would do through us, and how He wanted to do it.

The waiting time was very necessary. God changed our hearts during this time. He changed our desires, interests, priorities, and passions. And He poured His love and passion for lost people and for God’s people into us. 

When we need to wait on God, it is one of the hardest things that He makes us do, especially during difficult times and trials. But in the end we will be far better off for the experience, if we can trust God and endure until He brings an end to the waiting time. When we look back at the difficult times that we have had to wait on God, we often see that these were very beneficial times in our lives spiritually. Our fellowship with God is often much deeper because of the difficulties and having to wait on God.

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

We Are Better Off After Waiting on God

“Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us and you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” – Psalm 66:8-12

“But now, this is what the LORD says- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” – Isaiah 43:1-2

God’s ultimate goal is for you to become more like Jesus. A person of honor, high quality, Godly character, and a person of glory.

“And we know that in all things (trials, difficulties, suffering) God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” – Romans 8:28-29

Some Bible Verses About Waiting On God

“But those who hope (wait) in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

“Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  – Psalm 27:14

“Give ear to my words, o Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, o Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” – Psalm 5:1-3

The more you know God in personal and real ways, the more you will trust Him. Even in and especially in difficult times. You will know that you need to wait on God. But you will wait in expectation, knowing that God is faithful. And knowing thatin His perfect timing He will come through for you.

Reasons Why You Should Wait On God

You should wait on God to receive God’s direction and wisdom for our life.  (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

• To keep in step with God and His timing (Be One with Him)
• God may need to prepare you first before He answers, and before He can use you in His kingdom work and mission
  • “He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. “ – Isaiah 49:2
• To stretch and strengthen your faith (to teach us to trust Him fully)
• God wants what is best for you
  • Isaiah 48:17-18 – “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.”
  • Isaiah 55:8-9 – “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
• To ultimately experience God in new and personal ways, and to grow in your experiential knowledge of Him and in your intimacy with God
• To learn to be humble and to learn submission

 

Waiting On God So He Can Mold & Shape You

God’s uses times of waiting for molding and shaping you to be the very best you can be. Which is to be like Jesus. Sometimes this involves God’s discipline. This type of discipline is not punishment for sin. It is discipline during difficult times to bring about changes in your heart and in your character. God uses this time to mold and shape you to have the same heart as His, with the same desires, interests, priorities, and passions.  

And God will use these times to make you like Jesus. Holy and pure. And a person of Godly character.

“We wait in hope for the Lord. He is our help and our shield.” – Psalm 33:20

“My soul wait in silence for God only – for my hope is in Him.” – Psalm 62:5

“Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land.” – Psalm 37:34

 

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

Examples Of People Struggling To Wait on God

Waiting on God is not easy. But it is something Christians must learn to do. Humble self and submit to God’s perfect will and timing. And we must learn to depend on God, and not on self or others.

David – “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.”  – Psalm 22

Jeremiah – “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” – Lamentations 3:19-26

 

God Moves Powerfully & Swiftly, In His Own Time

When God is ready, and in His time, He moves strongly and swiftly. 

“I am the LORD; in it’s time I will do this swiftly.” – Isaiah 60:22

God has a set time to do what He wants to do. Or what He promises to do. When it is God’s time, He will do what He has planned or promised quickly, strongly, and in a far better way than we could ever do it. It is essential to wait on God and His timing if you want to experience God in real, personal, and powerful ways.

Being unwilling to wait on God shows a lack of faith and confidence in God. Or a lack of humility.

 

Waiting On God – A Great Promise

There is a great truth and promise in God’s word in Isaiah 64. God promises that He will always act on behalf of those who trust Him and wait for Him. 

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. – Isaiah 64:4

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

We Need To Learn To Wait On God

We need to learn to patiently wait on God. Especially when you are confused and do not understand what God is doing. You do not need to understand what God is doing. You need to trust Him and wait patiently for Him.

God has a greater purpose in mind that just fixing our temporary problem or circumstance. 

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. And He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” – Psalm 40:1-4

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”  – Romans 8:28-29

When you understand the context of Romans chapter 8, you will see that when Paul writes “all things” in Romans 8:28, he is talking about difficult times and trials. He is telling us that God uses these difficult times for good. Not just the good of fixing your problems and making your life better.

The greater purpose God has for these things is found in verse 29. To mold and shape you to be conformed to the image of His son Jesus. 

 

Lessons To Learn From Waiting On God

We need to learn to wait on God. And there are various lessons to learn about God in these times of waiting. 

1.God is not in a hurry. He wants it done right, not done quickly

2. God has His time and His way.

Acts 1:7 “He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

2 Peter 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the LORD a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

Psalm 75:2 “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity.”

 

3. Faith strengthens with use. You need to exercise and use your faith so it will grow.

4. Instant answers do not mature you

5. Patience is one of your greatest needs

6. God wants to make you complete and whole

James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

More Lessons From Waiting On God

 

7. Waiting during trials is good spiritual training 

Hebrews 12:9-11 “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Malachi 3:3 “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.”

 

8. Waiting builds character, and builds hope 

Romans 5:3 “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Isaiah 49:23 “Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

 

9. God wants to transform you to be like Jesus

Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the LORD’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the LORD, who is the Spirit.”

10. You need to learn total submission to God

James 4:6-8 “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the LORD, and he will lift you up.” 

Isaiah 1:19-20 “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

11. God wants you to be one with Him and enjoy intimacy with God

John 17:22-23 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

 

* See God’s Spiritual Goals & God’s Training 

Waiting on God does not mean sitting around and doing nothing until God is ready to move and respond. Waiting on God can be a very active time of spending extra time in prayer and in God’s word, seeking Him and His voice. Because of this extra focused time alone with God, many people emerge from difficulties and times of waiting on God with a much deeper and more intimate fellowship with God.

 

Waiting on God: How to Trust God When You Have to Wait

 

Waiting on God means:

1.Trusting in God

2. Being Confident in God & Resting in God  

• Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
• “Take my yoke upon you”… Jesus is talking about submitting to Him, His will, His timing… and letting Him be in front and lead you. He is Lord, and we are His followers.

3. Hoping in God

• Isaiah 49:23 – “Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

4. Not Just Waiting On God, But Waiting With God

• Hebrews 13:5-6 “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

 

5. Actively Seeking God and His Will  

• “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13

6. Getting Right With God

7. Fully Submitting to God 

• Isaiah 66:2 “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

 

The next time you have to wait on God, do all you can to fully trust Him. Fully trust that God knows and wants what is best for you. And know that God has a purpose in allowing you to be in the situation of having to wait on Him.

 

 

 

 

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