Don’t Waste a Season of Waiting

“C-a-k-e, c-a-k-e!” The one-syllable word was drawn out into long pleas, and the audience roared with laughter. Bible teacher Beth Moore was telling the story of her little grandson who wanted the birthday cake sitting on the table so much, that nothing else mattered but “Cake, cake!” Not the food on his plate or the people sitting around him. His incessant mantra almost cost him eating some of the precious cake. And it wasn’t even his birthday.

Beth Moore then changed the mantra to a word many single women want—“M-a-n, m-a-n!” Another roar erupted from the audience of women. The mantra resonated with me.

Turn Your Season of Waiting into a Pursuit

Do you ever feel that waiting on something to happen is like being stuck in time? Stuck in life? I have. But I’ve discovered that waiting on God is an active pursuit of His will. Of His ways and His plan. It’s an active pursuit of Him.

“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” Lamentations 3:25 NKJV

Turn your season of waiting into an active pursuit of the heart of God. Seek Him, know Him, love Him. Share life with Him. When I’ve turned a passive attitude of waiting into an active pursuit of life with God, I’ve found so much joy and learned so much about Him than I might not have otherwise. In God, I have found a faithful Father, true Friend, and wise Guide. I’ve learned how to focus more on Him than the things I am waiting for. Peace replaces restlessness; contentment replaces anxiety.

Seek the Lord with all that you are while you wait. The relationship you build with God will sustain you now and prepare you to receive what you’re waiting for.  

Do Your God-Given Assignment with an Expectant Heart

What do we do while we wait for God to answer a prayer? His assignment for our lives. Has He placed you in a corporate office? Serve Him where you are. Do you stay at home with little ones and take care of them every day? Keep doing that good work. Do you serve in a ministry at church or on the mission field? Give your all—your best—to the kingdom’s work.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV

Whatever assignment God has given you right now, be all in for God and His plan. Expect Him to do great things in you and through you—to show you more of Himself, to make you stronger and more godly, and to help people through your words and actions. There may be an assignment God has for you to do before He makes your hope a reality.

Notice Who Else Is Waiting

I can picture different scenes in my mind, different “waiting rooms” that I have been in or heard about—a Sunday school room in which a group of friends prayed to find the right person to marry, a house full of prayer warriors who asked God to make a little girl’s surgery successful, an actual waiting room in which I waited to hear the state of a loved one.

When we are caught in a “waiting room,” we often find others who are waiting too. The truths and promises that God uses to encourage us, can become a lifeline to others who are hoping, praying, and waiting.

“Blessed be the … Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV

Don’t miss an opportunity to help others who are also waiting. Share with them the hope that you have in God.

Ask, Seek, and Knock in New Ways

When we shift our focus from waiting to experiencing the life God has for us now, our asking, seeking, and knocking take on a new approach. Our prayers expand to include new requests. As we draw close to God, our desires are shaped by His. We become more mindful of His purposes and plan, and pray accordingly. We also trust God’s timing, and find contentment in the journey to our desired destination.

It may not be easy to wait for something that is precious to your heart, but as you wait, see each day as necessary to God’s purposes and plan. Ask, seek, and knock yielded to His will, flourishing in His love, and resting in His peace. Stay close to Him, and turn a season of waiting into a season of much good. God never wastes a season.

Copyright © Katy Kauffman, December 2017. Used with permission.