Waiting. It’s a word that can feel heavy, frustrating, and sometimes even endless. We often find ourselves waiting for something – a job, a relationship, a breakthrough, or a healing. But what if the waiting season isn’t so much about what we are waiting for but rather about who we are becoming?
The truth is, God is far more invested in who we are becoming in the waiting season than in what we are waiting for. While we may be fixated on the outcome, God is focused on the process – the refining, the molding, the transformation.
In James 1:2-4, we are reminded, “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.” The waiting season is a testing ground. It’s where faith is stretched, where patience is developed, and where character is refined.
Think about Joseph. He waited years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, but in that waiting season, God was shaping him into a leader. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Joseph’s waiting season was not wasted – it was a preparation ground for the purpose God had for him.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” This verse doesn’t promise that we will get what we want when we want it, but it does promise that God will renew our strength in the waiting. The waiting season is a time of strengthening, not stagnation.
So, what can we do in the waiting? We can choose to:
- Trust God’s Timing: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
- Focus on Growth: Rather than fixating on the desired outcome, ask God, “What do You want to teach me in this season?” “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23).
- Stay Faithful: Just as David continued to tend sheep while waiting to become king, we can remain faithful in the small things and wherever we are. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).
- Surrender the Outcome: Let go of your timeline and trust that God’s plan is better than your own. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “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).
The waiting season is not a punishment; it’s a preparation. It’s not about what we’re waiting for but who we are becoming. God is shaping us, refining us, and preparing us for the promise. So, instead of asking, “When will this end?” ask, “Lord, who are You calling me to become in this season?”
