How to Wait on God Well

Being able to wait on God is seriously one of the most life-altering spiritual disciplines that we need as believers if we desire to live content, undistracted, and joy-filled lives. However, with a fast-paced culture that encourages speed over everything else, it makes waiting well not only counter-cultural but extremely difficult. Can I get an Amen?🙌🏾 The reason why I think it is so important to practice waiting well and what I've realized over the years in my own life is that the strength of my faith is directly impacted by how well I can wait on God. I’ve also realized that there are certain misunderstandings that we have about God that make it much more difficult to wait on Him than it needs to be. I’m not promising you 5 steps to make your waiting season easy because waiting is usually never easy, but I do want to share with you 4 mindset shifts that will help you wait on God well. Enjoy!

If you think waiting on God is hard, it only gets worse when you don’t understand God’s perspective on time.  

In today’s video, I’m sharing:

•  ❓What most Christians don’t understand about God’s timing.
•  ⏱️ The reason why God calls us to wait when it doesn’t always make sense.
•  🕊️  Why waiting well has such a significant impact on our spiritual lives. 

While I was in college, I encountered a young, smart black woman who was struggling with her faith primarily because there was one question that no one had ever been able to clearly answer for her. That question was: “Where did God come from?” She asked her pastor and people in her church and they didn't have a sufficient answer. I gave her some time to clearly articulate her frustration with the church's inability to answer hard questions before I responded, because more than anything, I wanted her to know that her curiosity mattered and it wasn't an indication of a lack of faith, but a sincere desire to truly know God. I shared with her that in asking the question “Where did God come from?” you assume that He has a beginning and that He is in the constraints of time. What we have to understand is that God is eternal, meaning He always was, always is, and will always be. He just is. He just exists eternally in all past, in all present, and in all future. One of the most common misconceptions that we have about God is that He is somehow limited by time because we are. However, the Bible tells us God is not like man; we are temporary, we have a beginning, and we have an end, but God doesn't. So when it comes to waiting, what seems like it's taking forever for us, may feel like a billionth of a millisecond to God.  

Waiting Well Mindset 1: God is Eternal

So first, it's important for us to realize that God has a completely different perspective and vantage point on time because He is eternal. So when we feel like God is taking too long, He clearly does not feel that way. He knows and can see the beginning from the end because He created it. He's outside of time, so He's not worried about something taking too long or even something moving too fast. He's in control of time. So as we wait and become anxious about the clock ticking by and running out of time, we can rest assured as we place our trust in the God that controls time. 

Waiting Well Mindset 2: God is Not in a Rush 

Since God is outside of time and controls the timing of everything, we also need to understand that this is why God is not in a rush. When you read through the Gospels, you'll see so many times where Jesus takes His time. While everyone else is stressed out by the limitation of time, Jesus is chill. For example, when Jesus finds out that Lazarus has died, the Bible tells us He stayed where He was for two days before He went to Lazarus. Now, if we fast forward, we know that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but He certainly was not in a rush to get to Lazarus before he died because time does not stress God out as it stresses us out. 

God knows when something needs to happen. Oftentimes, we just want the thing that we want when we want it. Because God is outside of time, He not only knows what we need, but more importantly, when we need it.  

Waiting Well Mindset 3: Timing is Everything 

Now, we can't get it twisted. Just because God isn't in a rush doesn't mean timing is any less important. 

Right now, it's spring here where I live and I know that if I want my garden to flourish this summer, there are certain things I need to plant right now. There are also certain seeds I should have planted last month and seeds I need to plant next month to ensure that when the seeds sprout and harvest, it's in the right season so that they can actually survive and thrive. What God understands about time because He created time is that we also need to understand is that certain things need to happen at certain times. Instead of thinking we know better than God, we need to trust His timing because He knows the season to give us a certain thing better than we do so that we can be in a position to maintain what it is that He's giving us. 

If we go back to the Gospels and think about Jesus, how many times did people want to rush Him to do something or say something or reveal something, and He will tell them it's not yet my time, it's not my time to be revealed, my time has not yet come? God understands the importance of timing, so we don't have to worry about it. Instead, we can trust in His perfect timing.

In John 15, Jesus compares Himself to a vine, and we are the branches connected to Him, relying on Him for everything we need to be fruitful. In this beautiful illustration, the garden, which consists of the vine (Jesus) and branches (us), needs a gardener, and God is the gardener. He's the One who plants the seeds. He's the One that tends the garden. He's the One that produces the growth in due season. He knows what He's doing, and He knows exactly when He needs to do it to give you the most optimal chance to thrive.

Sometimes it feels like God is slow and we worry that if something is taking too long, it won’t happen or it will be too late, but God is never late. In fact, throughout the Bible we read accounts of Jesus healing people and them being instantly healed or set free of things that had them bound for most of their lives. It’s not that God can’t or won’t do it, but when it’s time, God can turn a matter around immediately.

Waiting Well Mindset 4: There is Purpose in Your Waiting

God has a purpose for everything that He's called us to do and receive for Him and from Him. We often mistakenly focus on the results only when God is also focused on the process that it takes to get us to those results. The ends do not justify the means in the Kingdom of God. God cares just as much about the journey as He does the destination, and when we take on the mind of Christ to trust God while we're waiting on this journey with Him instead of just holding our breath until we get to the finish line, we will live more joyful filled and content lives. The type of lives that God has always intended His children to experience. 

There is a blessing on the other side of your waiting season, but there's also a blessing within your waiting season. Overcoming the temptations we face in a waiting season is critical for our spiritual growth. I invite you to watch this video, in which I share three tests you will face in a waiting season and how to overcome each one. 

For more encouragement, download my free Bible Study called “Worry-Free” to learn the 3 lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free at belovedwomen.org. Thanks for watching and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and beloved.