So the LORD must wait for you to come to him
     so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the LORD is a faithful God.
    Blessed are those who wait for his help.
—Isaiah 30:18 NLT

Some people seem to be born with a good “wait-o-meter” in place. They take life as it comes and calmly navigate their days with a bit of resignation and a great deal of emotional stability. I am not one of those people. I’m the one who wants to fix whatever is broken and fix it now. If my computer doesn’t respond as it should, I don’t shrug and walk away to try again later. Oh no. I push multiple buttons, growing increasingly frustrated, and then march off with my computer in hand to the first person I can find who can fix it. Now. I also tend to want to fix broken hearts the same way instead of recognizing they need time and space to mend. This is not good. So, I look to God’s Word to ground me in a better way. What should I do while I wait? Here are some answers that have helped me:

Accept “waiting” as an inevitable part of being human. Ask a child who is waiting for Christmas. Talk to a teenager who would really like to be done with school and move on with adulting. Or look at the myriad of examples in the Bible. Abraham was promised a son and had to wait until his 100th birthday to hold that baby boy in his arms. When the Israelites were sent away into Babylon as captives, God gave the prophet Jeremiah a word for them: “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again’” (Jeremiah 29:10 NLT). How do you think that felt to the middle-aged folk who would probably not be alive when the waiting in captivity ended? We Christ-followers wait today for the return of Jesus. It’s been a couple of thousand years so far. We cannot escape the fact that life often involves waiting.

Run to God first. Our verse above tells us that God waits, too: “ … the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion.” Oftentimes, if we have a “fixer” mentality, we are so busy running around trying to get past the waiting that we forget God is waiting for us to come to Him! We must remember that God is filled with love and compassion for those who come to Him. Sometimes, waiting happens just for that reason, so we will turn our hearts away from ourselves and our own problems and nestle into the arms of the One who is always there and who always cares. My first response when faced with something I can’t fix should be to run to Him.

Be assured God knows all about waiting. Stop and ponder how long God has waited for His people to return to Him! Peter tells us that God desires that all will to turn to Him and be rescued, and that is the reason His second coming has not yet happened: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).

Settle down and live where you are. If you can’t fix it and God hasn’t fixed it for you, even after you have asked, then follow the sound advice God gave His people who were exiled to Babylon. Were they supposed to hatch plots to overthrow Babylon? Should they form a daring escape plan and attempt to return to Israel without being caught? Nope. Here’s what God directed them to do: “‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce’” (Jeremiah 29:5 NLT). God basically told them to live where they were currently planted. They were to do good right there in the everyday while they waited for His deliverance. So, perhaps when life throws me a curve without an easy fix, I ought to go and make a meal or walk with a friend. I don’t need to spend my days in misery over what can’t, at the moment, be fixed. When I see someone with a broken heart, I take time for them, make space for them, and pray for them, but I don’t rush a process that must take its time. When you plant a seed, the flowers don’t instantly appear. We water and weed and wait.

Trust that the wait has a purpose. Even when we don’t understand the “why” of our waiting, we can trust the One who has asked us to do this hard thing. Everything He allows comes with purpose. Here’s what He assured the captives in Babylon: “ … ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:10-11 NLT).

Trust that the wait will bring blessing. In today’s verse above, Isaiah assures us that waiting is for our good. “ … For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.”

Father God, I thank You for always being faithful. You know the reasons, even in the midst of hard delays. Please help me see the blessings You have for me right now as I wait. Help me to trust You, even when I can’t see how long the wait will be. I submit to Your will and Your ways, knowing that all You allow has a purpose, and one day I will see and understand. Enable me to “be where I am,” planting good crops of love and grace in the lives of those around me, and strengthen my faith in the wait, for You are good, and Your plans for me are good, too. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

You are loved,
Sharon

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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