Estimated reading time: 4 minutes:-)
“Though the winter is long even richer the harvest it brings.”
I don’t like to wait.
And I don’t think anybody does, but I have an especially bad case of impatience. Some people can be happy where they are after a little concentration. But me? I can hardly wait for tomorrow. My mind is constantly straying to the future—my goals yet to be accomplished, my dreams that haven’t come true yet, even my future lifestyle.
All the time, I wonder about who my future husband will be, who my kids will be, what my house will look like, even how my wedding will be planned. And I’m not talking about dreaming of having a wedding. I’m talking about planning out the color palette, types of flowers, cake decorations, bridesmaid dresses—it’s practically obsessive and a tad ridiculous, but sometimes I just can’t help myself.
Maybe that’s you. Or maybe you don’t plan so much, but you still long for the future just as much. Either way, in seasons of waiting, it’s tough.
I know I talked about waiting last week, in regards to singleness, but this morning I want to dive into what we should do in those times of waiting.
Planning out the future can be fun, but it’s also super draining. Trust me, I know. Waiting gets even harder when your mind is fixed on the future. So what do we do when we are waiting? How should we respond when we just want to be there so bad?
I’ve had this verse on my mind lately.
Proverbs 13:12 ~ “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Sometimes, I feel like the longer I wait, the longer my hope is deferred. During the lock downs last spring, I felt like my hope was postponed or delayed. Every week, being an unrealistic optimist, I hoped the world would open back up and life would return to normal. But every week, I was disappointed time and time again. That kind of season makes you feel sick, sick and tired of being hopeful for something that may not come.
Maybe you’re waiting for the right person to marry. Maybe you’re waiting for kids. Maybe you’re waiting for peace, or the world to go back to normal like I did. Maybe you’re waiting for a house or healing or someone to recognize all your hard work.
Let me tell you a story.
I’ve been playing soccer for almost five years.
I started playing when I was in 8th grade, so by the time I came to LuHi, I wasn’t very experienced. But I wanted so badly to get on Varsity, to score goals, to impact the lives of those around me.
I played catch-up for many years. I still am. I could never afford club soccer, so my teammates who could excelled ahead of me because of the training they were receiving that I wasn’t. I went to every conditioning. I asked my coach to give me one-on-one training. I went to all the practices, stayed after to ask my coaches what I could improve upon. I worked out at home during quarantine and pushed myself every day. I saved up over the summer one year to pay for a season of rec soccer, and found rides to get there for every practice and every game.
I was dedicated to soccer, but every year, I was placed back on JV. Every year, I felt like nobody noticed my hard work. That nobody cared about how hard I was pushing myself.
Until this year.
I remember coming home from school one afternoon a few weeks ago, and my coach calling me out of the blue. I answered right away, and he simply just told me he noticed. He noticed how dedicated I was and how much work I put in. And that he appreciated it. And I started crying over the phone.
Waiting is hard. Sometimes we wait longer than four years. Sometimes we wait ten. But while we wait, here’s what the Bible tells us to do:
- Practice patience and establish your hearts: James 5:7-8 ~ “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
- Be strong and courageous: Psalm 27:13-14 ~ “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
- Trust in God: Psalm 33:20-22 ~ “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”
- Seek Him: Lamentations 3:25 ~ “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”
I started this post with a lyric from “Seasons” by Hillsong. “Thought the winter is long even richer the harvest it brings.” God notices your waiting, if nobody else. God sees you. He knows how hard it is to be patient and wait for the good things to come or for the bad things to end.
But trust his timing. Establish your heart in Him and be strong and courageous. Choose to seek him in the waiting, to look for Him even on the longest days.
Listen to this song by Sarah Reeves (it’s super good!) and reflect on how you can use this season of waiting to grow closer to Him. Happy weekend and Jesus loves you!