People say that waiting is probably the hardest thing to do. But God promises blessings for those who wait on Him.

Do you know that waiting is a command that is found multiple times in both the Old and New Testaments? Which means there is a blessing (or blessings) that comes with it. God did not give us commands to make life difficult for us or to punish us. On the contrary, God’s commandments were designed to protect and bless us.

The Challenge of Waiting

The game show “Family Feud” is very popular not only in the west but in Asian countries as well. And if we ask one hundred people to name the toughest thing to do, waiting would probably rank at number 1.

My job as a Lab. Tech. Involves performing scientific analyses on blood and other body fluids. This is primarily to aid the requesting physicians in their diagnosis and treatment of patients. So, we collect the sample(s) from the patients and tell them to wait an hour or so for the result.

Almost immediately they’d say, “What? That’s too much. I can’t wait that long. I’ve already waited for more than an hour to see the doctor. And now, you’re telling me to wait for another one hour?” To that, I would just wink at them. At times, I would respond, “We will do our best to finish your lab investigations before one hour. Thank you for understanding.”

Our lab receptionist often gets irritated every time patients nag at her about when their results will be ready. This can also be irritating for us because we have to speed up just to keep things calm.

People, in general, hate to wait.

Waiting on the Lord

What does it mean to wait on the Lord? When people in the Old Testament were told to wait on the Lord, most of the time, it meant waiting on God’s providential care. It’s about trusting the Lord to provide for their needs, keep them safe and secure, and work things out for their good.

Check out these two verses:

1. Hosea 12:6 (NIV)

“But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.”

2. Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

These are not only commands but encouragements to rely completely on God in regard to their situation.

In the New Testament, waiting on the Lord often refers to Jesus’ second coming. There are a lot of passages that talk about the return of Christ. Let us look at just two of them.

Titus 2:13 (NIV)

“While we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

But in almost all biblical instances, waiting on the Lord is expectant trust and hope in God’s movement and activity. It means trusting God to do things on His own timetable.

How do we wait on the Lord?

In my article, “The Power of Waiting on the Lord,” I mentioned the three P’s of waiting:

The Benefits of Waiting on God

There are several benefits (or blessings) for the Christian who faithfully waits on God. Here are just three of them.

1. Waiting Builds Up Our Relationship with God.

When we do not know what to do about something, we should wait and pray. Prayer should be our first option, not last. Often times we get caught up just doing something that we neglect to hold still, listen, and know that He is God.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a).

Prayer is two-way communication with God. We don’t just talk, talk, talk, and then walk away without letting God speak. I used to hear one pastor always say, “Communication is a relation. No communication means no relation.”

This is true in every relationship. The reason married many couples today end up in divorce is a lack of communication. Both have become so busy with their own careers that they no longer have time to talk with each other. On the other hand, couples who are committed to always finding time to talk and bond develop deeper intimacy.

It’s the same thing with our relationship with God. Spending more time talking with and listening to God deepens our relationship with Him. We will get to know God for who He is and learn to trust Him instead of depending on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT).

2. Waiting Allows God’s Perfect Will to be Done.

You may be praying for a better job, a promotion, a life partner, or the salvation of your friends and other family members. Keep seeking the Lord and wait for Him to carry out His perfect will in your life

The reason we end up making the wrong decisions is that we did not seek the Lord. Or perhaps we did. The problem is, that we did not wait for His answer. We were in a hurry that we did not just trip. Worst, we ended up falling flat on our faces!

Why? It’s because we got impatient waiting for God’s directions and acted on our impulses. We chose to go with our guts and it turned out, it was a huge mistake. Too late now, huh?

Patience is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Sadly, many Christians are struggling to let it be manifested in their lives. This fruit of the Holy Spirit, along with the other eight, is given to us the moment we got born again.

But we have to let it rule us, instead of letting the desires of the flesh reign. As the Bible says, the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit (Galatians 5:6-17).

My Will versus God’s

Failing to seek the Lord’s will before making major life decisions such as marriage is almost certain to end up in divorce. This is exactly what happened to my high school best friend, Tess.

Tess is a believer in Jesus and the leader of the dance ministry in our church. Like most single moms, my friend had been praying for a life partner.

While waiting for God’s providence, she focused her time and attention on her ministry in the church. As the leader of the dance ministry, she committed to training future dancers for the Lord.

One day, a fellow church member introduced Tess to her cousin who was at that time working in another country. They then started communicating through their phones. Six months down the road and they officially became a couple. Another six months passed and they decided to meet in person.

They met and the next day the guy proposed. Without taking some time to seek the Lord, Tess said “Yes!” What happened a year later left my friend devastated. It didn’t work out no matter how hard she tried.

Tess’s story is a classic example of “my will versus God’s.” If she would have just waited and consulted with God, she’d been spared the heartaches and troubles.

So many of us are waiting for something and as we wait, we can become discouraged and start asking when the waiting will ever end. Will God ever answer my prayer?

The point here is, that let us all learn to wait and wait patiently for God’s timing (Psalm 37:7a, NASB).

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Waiting on the Lord: Finding the One Who is Worth the Wait by Susannah Baker

3. Waiting Focuses Our Attention on Heavenly Things.

Patiently waiting on God enables us to get our attention off this world and focus on heavenly things (Colossians 3:1-2). How so? To wait on God does not mean moping around doing anything. Being idle causes us to get bored all the more while waiting on the Lord.

Although we cannot tell how long we have to wait, we can be sure that God will answer our prayers in His own time. In the meantime, let us focus on God and His works. Let us be God’s instruments to accomplish His will and purpose on earth.

May we desire heavenly and eternal things over earthly which are only temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18).

As we wait for God’s directions, His answers to our prayers, and His Second Coming, let us continue to occupy. Let’s get down to doing the Father’s business – fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)!

Conclusion

What if we get tired of waiting?

Reality check; it doesn’t matter how strong you think you are. There will come a time when you grow old and weak. At which point you begin to lose all the energy needed to keep up with the daily challenges of life.

God’s promise? He will not only give us strength and power; He will also renew our strength from time to time (Isaiah 40:29-31). We just need to learn to wait.

Yes, we get tired; we become weak. But God will enable us to do what we need to do. Here’s more, God will let us soar during a crisis. Do you know what they always say? Walking in the ordinary pressures of life can be much more difficult than flying like an eagle in a time of crisis.

We are also able to run when the challenges are many and to walk faithfully in the routine day-to-day demands of life.

As another Christian blogger said, “Prayer is powerful. But always remember that God works according to His timetable, not yours. Be patient.”

But we need to trust God and wait patiently for Him to carry out His perfect will. If we take the time to pursue God’s direction and wait for His response, we will get much better results.

When we trust in God to direct our steps, rely on His timing, and live for Him, He will see us through to victory.

Here’s a beautiful and encouraging song by Don Moen, “Like Eagles.”