The Work God Does While We Wait
"Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
- Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
- Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
There is something about waiting that reveals who we are.
When life moves according to our plans, we don't have to think much about trust. We make decisions, solve problems, check things off the list, and move on. But waiting interrupts all of that. It puts us in a place where we cannot simply fix the situation and move forward.
And that's often where God begins to work on something deeper than the situation itself.
We live in a culture that has made waiting almost unnecessary. We can track a package, check an appointment, receive an instant response, or find an answer within seconds. We have become very good at eliminating uncertainty.
Unfortunately, we can carry that expectation into our relationship with God. We want to know what He's doing, when He's going to do it, and how everything is going to turn out. But God doesn't always give us that information. Sometimes He gives us something much more important: an opportunity to learn what it means to trust Him.
When life moves according to our plans, we don't have to think much about trust. We make decisions, solve problems, check things off the list, and move on. But waiting interrupts all of that. It puts us in a place where we cannot simply fix the situation and move forward.
And that's often where God begins to work on something deeper than the situation itself.
We live in a culture that has made waiting almost unnecessary. We can track a package, check an appointment, receive an instant response, or find an answer within seconds. We have become very good at eliminating uncertainty.
Unfortunately, we can carry that expectation into our relationship with God. We want to know what He's doing, when He's going to do it, and how everything is going to turn out. But God doesn't always give us that information. Sometimes He gives us something much more important: an opportunity to learn what it means to trust Him.
Waiting Reveals What We Believe
It's easy to say we trust God when everything is moving in the right direction. Waiting asks a different question: **Do I trust God when I don't get my way on my timetable?**
That question can uncover things we might rather leave hidden. Waiting can reveal how much we depend on control. It can expose our tendency to compare our lives with other people's lives. It can uncover the frustration we feel when God seems to be moving everyone else forward while we remain in the same place.
But perhaps those discoveries aren't failures. Perhaps they're invitations.
God doesn't expose something in our hearts simply to make us feel guilty about it. He brings it into the light so He can transform it. The frustration we've been feeling may not only be about how long we've been waiting. It may also reveal how deeply we've come to depend upon getting the outcome we want.
That is worth taking to God.
That question can uncover things we might rather leave hidden. Waiting can reveal how much we depend on control. It can expose our tendency to compare our lives with other people's lives. It can uncover the frustration we feel when God seems to be moving everyone else forward while we remain in the same place.
But perhaps those discoveries aren't failures. Perhaps they're invitations.
God doesn't expose something in our hearts simply to make us feel guilty about it. He brings it into the light so He can transform it. The frustration we've been feeling may not only be about how long we've been waiting. It may also reveal how deeply we've come to depend upon getting the outcome we want.
That is worth taking to God.
Waiting Teaches Us to Receive Today
One of the great dangers of waiting is becoming so focused on *what's next* that we miss *what's now*. We can spend so much energy wondering when life will finally change that we fail to notice the people, opportunities, responsibilities, and blessings already in front of us.
The future can quietly become an idol. We tell ourselves that *then* we'll be happier, *then* we'll have more time, *then* we'll serve more, *then* we'll enjoy life, or *then* we'll finally feel settled. Meanwhile, today keeps passing us by.
But God is present in today.
The person sitting across the table matters today. The opportunity to encourage someone matters today. The chance to serve matters today. The ordinary responsibilities God has entrusted to us matter today. Waiting doesn't mean life has been postponed.
This day is still a gift from God.
We don't have to know what tomorrow holds to faithfully receive today. There is holiness in being present, paying attention, loving the people God has placed around us, and faithfully doing what He has given us to do right now.
The future can quietly become an idol. We tell ourselves that *then* we'll be happier, *then* we'll have more time, *then* we'll serve more, *then* we'll enjoy life, or *then* we'll finally feel settled. Meanwhile, today keeps passing us by.
But God is present in today.
The person sitting across the table matters today. The opportunity to encourage someone matters today. The chance to serve matters today. The ordinary responsibilities God has entrusted to us matter today. Waiting doesn't mean life has been postponed.
This day is still a gift from God.
We don't have to know what tomorrow holds to faithfully receive today. There is holiness in being present, paying attention, loving the people God has placed around us, and faithfully doing what He has given us to do right now.
Waiting Can Deepen Our Trust
Perhaps the greatest gift of waiting is that it moves our faith from the theoretical to the personal.
It's one thing to believe that God is faithful. It's another thing to keep trusting Him when we don't have the answer we wanted. It's one thing to believe that God is in control. It's another thing to release something we desperately want to control.
That's why Habakkuk's words are so helpful: "Though it linger, wait for it.” The command isn't complicated, but it isn't easy either. Waiting requires us to release our demand for certainty and place our confidence in God's character.
We may not know what the future holds, but we can know the One who holds it.
And perhaps that's the deeper work God wants to accomplish in us—not simply getting us through the waiting, but teaching us how to trust Him in it.
So if you're in a waiting season right now, don't measure these days only by what hasn't happened yet. Pay attention to what God may be growing in you. Pay attention to what He has already placed in your hands. Pay attention to what faithfulness looks like today.
The answer may come tomorrow. It may take longer than you hoped. But while you're waiting for God to do what only God can do, don't miss the work He wants to do in you.
Sometimes the waiting isn't just about what we're waiting for. It's about who we're becoming while we wait.
It's one thing to believe that God is faithful. It's another thing to keep trusting Him when we don't have the answer we wanted. It's one thing to believe that God is in control. It's another thing to release something we desperately want to control.
That's why Habakkuk's words are so helpful: "Though it linger, wait for it.” The command isn't complicated, but it isn't easy either. Waiting requires us to release our demand for certainty and place our confidence in God's character.
We may not know what the future holds, but we can know the One who holds it.
And perhaps that's the deeper work God wants to accomplish in us—not simply getting us through the waiting, but teaching us how to trust Him in it.
So if you're in a waiting season right now, don't measure these days only by what hasn't happened yet. Pay attention to what God may be growing in you. Pay attention to what He has already placed in your hands. Pay attention to what faithfulness looks like today.
The answer may come tomorrow. It may take longer than you hoped. But while you're waiting for God to do what only God can do, don't miss the work He wants to do in you.
Sometimes the waiting isn't just about what we're waiting for. It's about who we're becoming while we wait.
Continue the Conversation
If you're finding yourself in a season of waiting, take some time to revisit this past Sunday's message, “When God’s Timing Is Delayed.” The message from Genesis 40 explores what it means to trust God when His work isn't immediately visible and reminds us that what looks like a delay may be part of something God is preparing. Watch the Week 3 sermon and allow the message to encourage you to trust Him with what you cannot yet see—and to remain faithful with what God has placed in front of you today.
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