The Weight of the Wait

Back in January, I renewed my yes to God. After spending the year before pressing toward my personal and professional goals, I was exhausted.

So I did what any weary soul should do: I returned to my first love and surrendered my life to Jesus again.

I had no idea that less than 24 hours after asking God to align my will with His, I would receive a call that my position was eliminated, effective immediately.

Just like that, I was launched into one of the hardest waiting seasons of my life.

Truthfully, for a lot of the year, I resented the wait. I couldn't understand why God would respond to my "yes" by taking away my "source."

While my head-knowledge of God knew that He doesn’t withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly, as the months passed, my heart struggled to believe this truth. My spirit grew tired.

So again, I did what any weary soul should do: I returned to my first love and surrendered my life to Jesus.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

It can be so easy to romanticize the wait when we read about so many slow, yet powerful miracles in the Bible:

• God blessed Sarah with a child after ninety years.

• He elevated Joseph to a position of influence after thirteen years.

• The Israelites reached the promised land after wandering the desert for forty years.

• The woman with the issue of blood was healed after twelve years.

We have so much evidence that God is faithful to His word. But still, the fact that we serve a good God who keeps all His promises does not negate our human experience as we navigate life's dark valleys.

Although the testimonies of our favorite Bible heroes encourage us to hold fast to God’s promises, they also remind us of the very real tension between our present sufferings and God’s future plans.

Before God answers our prayers, He often leads us through seasons in which we come face to face with the weight of the wait.

While we wait, God tenderly draws us nearer to Him and teaches us how to truly walk out our faith.

I say all this to say that waiting is hard and while I waited for God to open the next door, I wept, lamented, doubted, warred, worshiped, and spoke more candidly with God than I ever have in my life.

It’s in the stillness of the waiting, that we learn to approach God authentically with all of our brokenness. And as we earnestly seek His face, in love, He is faithful to show us ours.

Even though waiting is far from glamorous, it is necessary to silence the noise that often prevents us from getting in alignment with God’s will for our lives.

So if you’re walking through your own waiting season right now, know this: the weight may be heavy, but because God goes with you, you will not crumble.

You may not see the big picture right now, but it is better than anything you could conjure up. In the end, the wait will always be worth it and soon enough you'll see why.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10

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