Waiting for God is hard work.
Throughout my adult life I have spent long, painful seasons waiting for God to bring…
Healing. Justice. Provision...
Over and over, I have cried with the the Psalmist- “My should is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? (Psalms 6:3)
Where Are You, God?
The hard truth is, God has rarely shown up as quickly as I thought he should when I was hurting. Sometimes, his delay seemed right down cruel. Does that seem harsh? Faithless? Disrespectful perhaps? That is not my intention. I am, however, trying to be honest.
It is best to be honest about our doubts. God prefers our shocking honesty to sugar-coated platitudes. He can WORK with honesty.
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Learning to Wait Well
Once, several years ago, I was in a hard wait. Someone I loved and trusted had betrayed me and broken my heart.
I wanted God to hurry up and get me through the grief. I begged him to take the weight off my chest, and the tears from my eyes. I was desperate to feel whole again.
During that time, I came across Psalm 37. As I read it, I realized it contained a lot of wisdom about how to navigate the dark seasons when we are waiting for God.
I read the verses over and over and then, I wrote down 26 bits of good advice I found there. If a particular point appeared more than once, I wrote it down again. I figured the repetition meant God wanted me to pay attention!
Spoiler alert- God says, “Don’t fret” a lot.
Here are…
Twenty-Six Things To Do While You Are Waiting for God
- Do not fret. (vs 1)
- Don’t be envious of the wicked. (vs 1)
- Trust in the Lord (vs 3)
- Do good (vs 3)
- Be content and rest in God’s faithfulness (vs 3)
- Delight in the Lord (vs 4)
- Commit your way to the Lord (vs 5)
- Trust Him (vs 5)
- Be still before the Lord (vs 7)
- Wait patiently for Him (vs 7)
- Fret not (vs 7)
- Refrain from anger (vs 8)
- Forsake wrath (vs 8)
- Fret not (vs 8)
- Wait for the Lord (vs 9)
- Be generous (vs 21)
- Lend generously (vs 26)
- Turn from evil (vs 27)
- Do good (vs 27)
- Seek wisdom (vs 30)
- Seek justice (vs 30)
- Love the law of the Lord (vs 31)
- Wait for the Lord (vs 34)
- Keep His way (vs 34)
- Be a person of peace (vs 37)
- Take refuge in the Lord (vs 40)
