Learning While Waiting

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by Karisa Tolley

- Radiant Coordinator -

Waiting has to be one of the most frustrating, annoying, and unexciting things in life. Waiting tests our character and can be experienced in many ways. For example, growing up in Florida, it was the WORST waiting in lines at Disney, but I knew my favorite ride was on the other side. Sometimes the waiting has something less exciting on the other side, like sitting in traffic. Nothing tests my patience more than sitting in traffic and not knowing the cause of it. There are also things like waiting for your wedding day as a little girl, waiting the nine months of pregnancy for your baby to get here, waiting to get into your dream school, waiting to see if you got the job you’ve been wanting, or even being on the waiting list for the puppy you’ve always wanted. Whatever the reason for waiting, it’s never a “fun” process.

I’m so grateful for Isaiah 40:31, which says,

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”.

I love how the Message version translates the first part, “But those who wait upon God get fresh strength”. I love that this verse doesn’t say, “those who get what they want exactly when and how they want it." It says, “those who WAIT." And after the wait, there is a beautiful reward.

Waiting has so much purpose. If we got everything exactly how and when we wanted, what would be the point in ever trusting in God? The waiting gives us a dependency on God. The waiting reminds our human nature that we are not in control, no matter how hard we try to be. The waiting prepares us for what’s to come!

Lately, I’ve been making sourdough bread from scratch. Let me tell you, making sourdough is such a long process - haha. If you don’t have a “starter” you must make some from scratch, which takes about 7-10 days. Once you have your starter, you begin on your dough which takes 3 hours to form. Then you let it sit for 6-12 hours, then you have to refrigerate it for 12-15 hours, and THEN you get to bake it -- which takes almost 2 hours. The other day, I tried to rush the process a little, and let just say, it did not work! The bread looked and tasted bad. Because there’s a reason for the process! The waiting is producing something in the bread that cannot be rushed.

I give you that silly example to remind you, that if there’s that much of a process for something like sourdough bread, how much more does God have an intentional process for you? Don’t rush the process because you don’t want to “wait”. Let God do exactly what He wants to in you during the waiting. There is purpose in the waiting and what’s on the other side is far better than we could ever imagine!

So, how can we “learn” while we wait? First, we must be careful not to become bitter. We must find joy in the waiting and allow ourselves to have new eyes for the season we are in. We must remind our souls that God has not forgotten about us but wants us to draw near to Him. Second, we have to be intentional in learning everything we can and push our frustrations aside. Frustration moves our attention to what’s not happening and causes us to miss everything that IS happening.

Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him”.

God is FOR you, especially in your waiting!