What is the hardest task you have ever had to do in life? Our answers may differ, but I bet the agonizing wait is near the top of your list. After all, do you like waiting for results, God to answer a request, or standing in line? Most of us despise the delay, and we don’t know how to do it very well.
We expect almost everything to be instantaneous. Our food cooks quickly, computers process data fast, and the information we desire is at our fingertips within seconds—I kind of like it. However, perhaps this speedy way of life hurts us?
After all, when we are accustomed to these rapid-fire conveniences, any delays seem to be a bit frustrating. Don’t you notice how waiting seems so inconvenient and unnecessary? Yet, we wait over and over again.
When Does the Agonizing Wait Take Place
We Spend Time Waiting for—
- delayed flights
- turbulence to stop
- green lights
- healing to take place
- love to transpire
- tomorrow to come
- rides at Disneyland
- a child to call whose cell phone battery has gone dead
- surgeries to finish
- vacations to start
- a diagnosis to be rendered
- our day to end
- employment
- babies to be born
- graduations to occur
- someone to show up
- a friend to call back
- relationships to be restored
- miracles to happen
- God to make a move
- a pregnancy test
- and more
Maybe your list looks different, but I know you wait. We all wait for something.
Waiting on God
The most agonizing delay for me is pausing for God to make a move. When I arrive in heaven, my first question will be, “God, why on earth couldn’t you have sped the plan up a bit.” Or perhaps it will no longer matter. I never quite understand the pace at which God moves, and yet my desire is His will.
Do you find yourself frustrated, tired, and angry in the agonizing wait?
When Waiting Is Not in Our DNA
I am a doer, a workhorse, productive; a no time will be wasted type of girl. At the age of 16, I worked in a clothing store. I found it unbearable waiting for customers to enter the store. Standing around always felt like a massive waste of valuable time.
It wasn’t unusual to see me rearrange racks, organize clothes, clean, and even paint when we were slow. I often pushed the vacuum at rapid speeds from one end to the other. Inevitably, in my rush and carelessness, one would hear this awful sucking sound—oops, another belt from a dress hung too low eaten by the machine.
Then I grew up, and everywhere I went, my black bag accompanied me. It was full of unaccomplished tasks to keep me busy in any delay. Determination kept me productive every second of my day.
Does this sound at all like you?
When the Agonizing Wait Becomes Intense
Then the unexpected happened, life occurred, and the wait became intense. Living was hard, and the struggle was real. My bag of things could no longer fill the void.
Sometimes waiting will be the hardest task we are asked to endure. When this happens, we need to be ready to embrace the wait well. Share on XDiscover What Makes the Wait a Challenge
Before we can wait well, we must discover what makes the delays a challenge.
Start simple at first with a few easy questions in those times of frustration?
- Do I dislike me?
- What am I avoiiding in my constant busyness?
- Have I not developed patience?
Then when the wait pulls at your heartstrings, we must begin pondering the more profound questions.
- How genuine is my faith?
- Am I capable of relinquishing control?
- How do I hope for something unseen?
- Do I trust God with His plan?
We Will All Wait for Something
Waiting doesn’t have to be the most challenging assignment in life. Once we choose to put our faith in God’s plan, we can learn to wait well. Discover in this article, “How to Trust God in the Unexpected.”
Waiting doesn't have to be the hardest assignment in life. Once we choose to trust in God's plan, we can begin learning how to wait well. Share on XWhat has been the most agonizing wait for you? What helped?
I hope you will join us over the next few weeks as we share and discover tools to change the agonizing wait into a time of peace and trust.
Waiting Series
Waiting for surgeries to finish has been a challenge for me. I trust God, but I still want the answer now. As I wait, I rejoice in previously answered prayers and remind myself that God is faithful.
Oh, waiting for surgeries is so hard. I do the same as far as remembering answered prayer. It helps. I hope you had a great weekend. Maree
Great post Maree! I’m still in the ‘waiting period’ for healing from these chronic health conditions…
But the waiting has been so very fruitful, in fact it has been a gift!
For in the waiting God has become so much more, so much closer, my relationship with Him has grown to a depth as never before.
There is great wisdom to be found in the waiting, if we but take time & patience to see His wisdom revealed…
Step by step, little by little, bit by bit His wisdom for waiting becomes all encompassing.
Then the wait doesn’t seem like a wait anymore but a wonderful journey of love, His love.
Blessings,
Jennifer
Jennifer, Praying right now for you as you wait for healing. Thank you for sharing that it has been fruitful. I am right there with you, amazed at my relationship with God through the wait. I love that you said it has been a wonderful journey. Blessings, Maree
Hi Maree,
The last three of the profound questions are pricking my heart right now. They are the difficult to answer and sometimes I fail to respond in faith. Other times, I’m like the man who said, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”
Oh, I’m grateful that He is with us through each wait.
Thank you for these words, friend.
Peace and grace,
Tammy
Like you, I feel such gratitude that God is always with us. The wait is hard. Blessings, Maree
Maree, thanks for sharing that quote and the questions we should ponder in our wait. Waiting well is never easy, but waiting poorly is so much worse. May God continually strengthen our faith as we look to Him. Blessings.
Carlie, I agree with what you said, “waiting Poorly is much worse.” I did that for too many years. God has so much goodness in the here and now that we miss when we don’t wait well. Blessings, Maree
Looks like the Father has you and I on the same wavelength in our writing – so good of Him to use us in this humble way. Thanks for your obedience in writing for Him.
Paris, I can’t wait to head over and see what you have written about waiting. I hope you have a great weekend. Maree
Great post. You have brought up some valid points.
Thank you for stopping to read and leaving an encouraging comment. I hope you are having a good weekend.
Great job Maree, I love the question at the end…I pondered it for a minute. The hardest part about waiting is the unknown:) But it’s in the unknown and waiting that I travel to the sweet spot of surrender. Thank you for sharing!
I love the way you said that “Sweet spot of surrender.” Thank you, Maree
Maree, a great post. I love your questions to ask yourself. Especially, What am I avoiding with my constant business? I know when I find myself working at a feverish pitch, I am trying to avoid something. I need to slow down and figure out what is chasing me.
Theresa, Yes, I am right there with you letting my business get in the way of getting to the bottom of what is going on. Maree
In the midst of our noise and busyness, the call from heaven still comes… Be still and know that I am God.
Amen!! Thank you, Karen. Blessings to you, Maree
There are some things I find very hard to wait for. Other times I can be patient and trust in God’s timing. I need to remind myself that God’s way is perfect and if I am having to wait there is a good reason for it. Thanks so much for this series on waiting. It is very helpful. Blessings to you! I’m your neighbor this week at #InspireMeMonday this week!
Hi Gayl – I am so happy we were neighbors. I agree God has a good reason why we are waiting. Thank you for the encouragement, I am glad you like the series. Blessings, Maree
Loved this so much! Thank you for sharing your heart ❤️
Kim, Thank you for taking the time to read the post and leave a message. I appreciate you. Maree
In training in the waiting department… I have been learning that patience is a fruit of the Spirit of God and so if I want all the fruits I will have to learn patience as well. =)
Thank you for your encouragement to learn to wait well.
Lisa, You are not alone. I will always be in training when it comes to waiting. I hope you will join us on Tuesday when I talk a bit about patience and how to wait well. Have a wonderful weekend. Maree
A challenge for sure. Praying to wait well is time well spent. laurensparks.net
Yes, I agree the time can be well spent when we learn how to wait well. Thank you for stopping by. Maree
I think you hit the nail on the head when you asked the question, “Do I even like spending time with me?”
I’ll be interested in subsequent posts about this subject – I think all could get something out of it!
I use to be on the go all of the time. Then life changed, and I was stuck with me quite a bit of the time. I had to learn to enjoy spending time with me. I look forward to you joining us with our topic on waiting. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Maree
I think I was resolved to wait on my plans to work out, but God had better ones. Health issues and mental stress are hard to deal with, I try to be a better witness to those in need, from my own experiences and know His love never fails.
Don’t you love it when God’s plans are better than we could ever imagine? Hanging on to the truth his love never fails. Thank you for adding to our conversation over here at Embracing the Unexpected. Blessings – Maree
One thing that makes it harder is not knowing when the wait would be over, I think. May God help us wait well. Thanks for this post, Maree. Blessings to you.
Boma, Yes, we need God to help us wait well. Maree
Hi Maree,
The most difficult is waiting upon the timing of the promises that have been given by God..especially when things seem to take on a Ground Hog’s day challenge!
Jennifer
Jennifer – Yes, I agree. I have to admit God seems to work a little on the slow side. Of course, his timing is always right, and he knows what he is doing. Thank you for stopping by. Maree
I love this post! It’s so timely.
You asked a great question at the end: what makes waiting hard for me? It’s definitely the unknown for me. That not knowing if you’ll even get what you’re waiting on. I think if I knew it would come in time, it’d be easier. Or maybe not. 😉 God knows best.
Loved it – again.
Yes, the unknown is difficult. I like your reply maybe not. We are so lucky God knows best.
I used to think I wanted to know the ending. I am kind of a destination type of person. However, had I known some of the things would turn out as they have I would have run the other way. Yet, the waiting has shaped me into a better person. I might have missed it.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Maree
Such a thoughtful post, Maree! Waiting is one of those things God obviously wants each and every one of us to learn to do well. It is my observation that no one gets spared from this lesson. No one. So now, during the waiting, I ask myself: why do I fight it? Why do I hate the waiting period? Should I hate things that force me to slow down and seek Him?
Alyson, I love the questions you presented in your comment. They are worth contemplating. Today I am struggling with the wait, and you have reminded me it is a great time to embrace the wait and seek him. You are so right none of us get spared from waiting for something. Blessings, Maree
All this time of suffering…..I did not realize the Lord was with me….because my mind was not well or functioning properly.
I do not want even my enemies to go through what I went through…it was a hellish nightmare. I felt so fragile, broken, so vulnerable at the time. My ex- husband did help me and so did my dad. But most of the time, I was physically very alone and very scared.
It is a terrible place to be in if you do not have family or friends with you during that severe crises.
I thank God that I am on the right meds.
Titus: I am looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
When my mind is fixed on the realities of heaven and not on this broken world, I find comfort and hope. For we fixed our minds on the things of heaven and not on the things of this earth.
Colossians 3:1-4
A wonderful scripture to meditate on when you are going through continuous hardships and struggles of this life.
Apostle Paul was full of hope when he knew where he was going.
Kalyani,
You bring up such a good point about not realizing God was with you because your mind wasn’t functioning properly. Many times people who do not suffer from mental health challenges try to push people to God as if that will be the only answer they need. They do it many times with good intentions, but there is a lack of understanding. I am so thankful you are on the right meds and close with God.
I love the verses you quoted. Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Maree
How about waiting for years. ……the mental anguish, the ECT(Electric Shock Treatments to my brain)….I was suffering from VERY SEVERE MAJOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DISORDER whole taking care of my sweet worried and anxious teenage son..times when I was in college…and times when I was physicall all alone with NO ONE to give me hugs, assurances, and comfort……no one to tell me that it will be OK. That was the hardest and most excruciatingly painful WAITING PERIOD of my life……. …because I was on so many types of psychiatric drugs prescribed from a couple of doctors to see if they will alleviate my tormented mind. One christian doctor misdiagnosed my condition and gave me the wrong psychiatric medications which caused me untold mental suffering and anguish….the doctor was rude and abnoxious ….and she was a christian. Thank God my Indian doctor helped me as well as my jewish doctor. The Jewish doctor at Vanderbilt Hospital literally saved my mind from going insane.
Kalyani, Thank you for sharing about your suffering and waiting. I can’t imagine having to take care of teenage son at the same time. I am so sorry for your painful waiting period and that you didn’t have anyone there to help you and hug you. I would have hugged you.
You are one strong woman, and by sharing your story, I am sure you give hope to others. Thank you for sharing. I am glad you found doctors who could help.
Maree
Your question at the end is a good one, Maree. I think what makes waiting hard for me is when I don’t (or can’t) know the outcome. It’s a bit easier to wait for things that I’m pretty confident are going to happen. But when I’m waiting for God to answer a prayer or a sticky situation to get resolved … that’s when I am more likely to get anxious. You’re right … it’s all about trust. Wonderful post!
Lois, Thank you for your encouraging comment. Yes, it is all about trust. I agree waiting for something we are pretty confident is a heck of a lot easier. Blessings, Maree
I heard a sermon recently that talked a bit about this. Waiting would be easy if we had a timeline. If we knew that the waiting time was 2 years, or 6 months, or even 10 years, we could set our sights on that time and it would be much easier to say to ourselves “I can do this! I can make it til then” and we can even fill that time with meaningful things because we could rest in that end date. The hard thing about waiting is that waiting requires faith because we do not usually have an end date. We must continually lift our “thing” up to God and trust He is working it out. Faith and trust – may God supply us with it in great abundance to allow us to wait well.
Lisa, Yes, you spokes such words of wisdom. Waiting does require faith. I have often wondered if I would like to know the end date. To be honest with some of the things I have waited for I think I might have given up if I had known it would be so long. I hope you are having a wonderful week. Mare
Maree, such a good post and beautiful graphic (quote). We truly cannot hurry the dawn and yet, when it comes – it is glorious! Thank you for reminding me to wait well! Blessings!
You are so welcome. I have spent so many years trying to hurry the dawn. Waiting is hard, but with God, it is possible to have peace and enjoy the journey. Thank you for stopping by.