The Power Of the “Wait”

What if the season you are asking God to end is the very season He is using to prepare you for what comes next?

No one likes waiting.

When I was young, if I wanted something that went beyond my mom's budget, she would tell me that I had to wait until she got paid—or the item would have to go on layaway.

For those who remember layaway, you know exactly what that meant. The item was yours, but you couldn't take it home yet.

There was always a level of disappointment because if it was something I really liked, I wanted it that day. I didn't want to wait until payday. I didn't want to make payments and come back later. I wanted it now.

If we are truthful, many of us still struggle with waiting.

We may find ourselves waiting to be healed. Waiting for a financial shift. Waiting for employment. Waiting for a relationship to be restored. Waiting for peace of mind. Waiting for our circumstances to change. Waiting for clarity. Waiting for God to answer a prayer we have prayed over and over again.

We seek God for change, yet sometimes the change doesn't seem to come as quickly as we would like. Waiting isn't always comfortable. Why? Because most of the time, what we are waiting for represents relief or release from something we are experiencing right now.

We don't just want the blessing.

We want the pain to stop.

We want the pressure to lift.

We want the uncertainty to end.

We want the door to open.

We want the answer.

And we want it now.

But what if there is power in the wait?

Even though we may not like waiting, there are benefits to waiting on God. Understanding those benefits may not remove every uncomfortable feeling, but it can help us wait with greater hope, strength, and expectation.

1. Waiting Renews Our Strength

Isaiah 40:31

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Waiting on God is not the same as doing nothing.

Biblical waiting is a position of trust.

It is saying, "God, I don't see the answer yet, but I believe You are still working."

Isaiah tells us that those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.

Notice that the Scripture does not say we will never become tired.

It says our strength will be renewed.

There are seasons in life that drain us emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even physically. Sometimes the situation has gone on longer than we expected. We have prayed. We have cried. We have tried to remain faithful.

Yet God promises that as we wait on Him, He will give us the strength needed for the journey.

Waiting puts us in a position to experience what happens when we truly depend on God.

Those experiences build our faith. They also build spiritual resilience.

When future battles come—and life teaches us that they will—we can look back and say, "I've been here before. I remember when I didn't know how God was going to bring me through, but He did."

The wait becomes part of our testimony.

2. Waiting Teaches Us Patience and Dependence on God

Psalm 40:1

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."

David said, "I waited patiently." That sounds wonderful when we read it, but patiently waiting can be difficult when the situation is painful.

Patience is tested when the answer doesn't come.

Patience is tested when the door remains closed.

Patience is tested when we see other people receiving what we have been praying for.

Patience is tested when we don't understand God's timing.

Yet David reminds us that God heard his cry.

Sometimes we interpret God's silence as God's absence.

But silence does not mean God is not listening.

A delay does not mean God has forgotten you.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of God's promise:

Hebrews 13:5

"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Even in the waiting, God is with us. We often focus so heavily on the outcome that we miss God's presence in the process.

The question becomes: Can we trust God when we don't yet know how the story will end?

Waiting teaches us to lean on God instead of depending only on what we can see, control, or understand.

3. Waiting Protects Us From Settling for Less

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Waiting on God means we are choosing to wait for His direction instead of creating our own shortcuts. And shortcuts can be tempting.

When we are tired of waiting, almost any open door can begin to look like God's door.

When we are lonely, the wrong relationship can start to look acceptable. When we are financially strained, the wrong opportunity can begin to look like provision.

When we are frustrated, we may convince ourselves that we need to make something happen. But moving ahead of God can sometimes lead us to settle for less than what He desires for us.

Not every opportunity is God's opportunity.

Not every open door is God's door.

Not every person is God's person for your life.

Waiting requires discernment. And sometimes God's delay is actually His protection.

What we call "taking too long" may be God keeping us from stepping into something we are not ready for—or something that was never meant for us.

4. Waiting Is Often a Time of Preparation

Habakkuk 2:3

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time... though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

There is an appointed time. That is something we often forget. We live by clocks and calendars. God moves according to purpose.

Habakkuk reminds us that the vision may seem slow in coming, but God's appointed time has not been forgotten. Sometimes waiting prepares us for what God has for us.

We may be praying for the opportunity, while God is developing our character.

We may be praying for the platform, while God is deepening our humility. We may be praying for financial increase, while God is teaching us stewardship.

We may be praying for a relationship, while God is healing places within us that need attention. We may be praying for the next season, while God is sharpening our spiritual senses for what will be required when we arrive. The wait may be doing more in us than we realize. There are things we learn about God in waiting seasons that we may never learn in comfortable seasons.

Waiting can strengthen our prayer life.

Waiting can deepen our relationship with God.

Waiting can sharpen our discernment.

Waiting can reveal what is truly in our hearts.

And waiting can prepare us to carry what we have been asking God to give us.

5. Our Waiting Can Become a Witness to Others

Matthew 5:16

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

People are watching. Sometimes people on the outside know when we are in a difficult waiting season. They know we have been praying.

They know we have been believing God. They know we have said, "I'm trusting God."

And whether we realize it or not, some are watching to see what happens. God knows they are watching too. When we continue to trust God through uncertainty, our faith becomes a witness. And when God brings us through, people get an opportunity to see what God has done in our lives. This glorifies God. Our testimony is not simply about us receiving what we wanted. Our testimony can become evidence to someone else that God is faithful. Someone may begin to believe because they watched you wait. Someone may begin to pray because they watched God answer you.

Someone may decide to trust God because they saw how He carried you through a season that should have broken you. Your wait may be producing a testimony that will help someone else believe.

6. We Can Still Rejoice While We Wait

Habakkuk 3:17-18

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines... yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

Habakkuk gives us a powerful picture of faith. There was no visible evidence of provision.

The fig tree wasn't blossoming. There were no grapes on the vines. The fields were not producing. From the outside, the situation looked bleak. Yet Habakkuk said, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord." This is mature faith. It is easy to praise God when the answer arrives.

It is easy to rejoice when the door opens. It is easy to testify when the breakthrough has already happened. But can we still rejoice when the fig tree hasn't blossomed?

Can we still worship when the prayer hasn't been answered? Can we still trust God when our circumstances haven't changed?

Rejoicing while we wait does not mean we pretend that we are not hurting.

It means our circumstances do not determine whether God is still worthy of our trust.

Our joy is rooted in who God is, not simply in what God has given us.

Job: A Powerful Example of Trust in the Waiting

Job is one of the greatest examples in Scripture of someone who experienced tremendous loss.

Job was a wealthy and respected man. He had family, possessions, and influence. Scripture describes him as a man who feared God and turned away from evil.

Then Job experienced unimaginable loss. He lost his possessions. He lost his children.

He lost his health. And Job questioned God. He wanted to understand why. Many of us can relate to that question.

Why, God?

Why did You allow this? Why am I going through this? Why hasn't anything changed?

Why am I still waiting? Yet even in his pain, Job continued to reverence God.

After losing so much, Job declared:

Job 1:21

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job was hurting. Job was grieving. Job had questions. But Job still recognized God as God.

And in the end, Scripture tells us:

Job 42:10

"The Lord restored the fortunes of Job... and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before."

Job could not see the end while he was living through the pain. And neither can we.

We are often trying to judge the entire story while standing in the middle of one chapter.

But God already sees the end. We may not understand why God has allowed a waiting season, but we must believe that our current circumstances do not limit God's ability to work out His greater plan for our lives.

Reflection: What Is God Doing in Your Wait?

Take a moment and think about the area of your life where you are currently waiting.

What are you asking God to change?

What answer are you waiting to receive?

What door are you waiting to open?

What situation are you asking God to restore, heal, or turn around?

Now consider another question:

What might God be developing in you while you wait?

Is He strengthening your faith?

Is He teaching you patience?

Is He sharpening your discernment?

Is He drawing you closer to Him?

Is He protecting you from settling?

Is He preparing you for something you are not yet able to see?

We often ask God, "When will this be over?"

Perhaps another prayer could be:

"God, show me what You want me to learn, develop, and understand while I am here."

Closing: There Is Power in the Wait

Waiting may never become our favorite season.

There will be days when waiting feels long.

There will be moments when we become tired.

There may even be times when we ask God, "How much longer?"

But remember this:

God is with you in the wait.

He has not left you.

He has not forgotten you.

He has not lost sight of your situation.

The same God you are waiting on is the God who is sustaining you while you wait. Your strength is being renewed. Your faith is being developed. Your spiritual senses are being sharpened. Your testimony is being written. And your relationship with God is being strengthened.

What looks like a delay may actually be preparation. What feels like silence may be a season of deeper dependence. And what seems slow in coming may still arrive at God's appointed time.

So while you wait, keep praying.

Keep believing.

Keep trusting.

Keep growing.

And yes—even when the fig tree has not blossomed—keep rejoicing.

Because there is power in the wait.

And one day, you may look back and realize that God was doing far more in the waiting season than you could ever see while you were in it.