Hurry Up and Wait

So, while waiting for my daily Bible reading plan to load the verse of the day, the screen shot looked like this:

Notice the verse is on waiting. And I was waiting for it to load!

Is that not a perfect picture of life sometimes? We are waiting on the Lord, but He seems to be taking his sweet old time “loading” the answer.

Do you, like me, need to learn to wait?

This verse has always puzzled me:

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:25 (ESV)

How can you “eagerly” wait with “patience”? Doesn’t eager seem to scream the opposite of patient?

But, if God tells us to do it, it must be possible. Will you join me in the school of waiting with patience?

List what your “wait” training issue is. I’d love to pray for you.

Lord, grant us patience when we want to forge ahead of You and make things happen on our own. Help us to remember that You are God and we are not. Amen

63 Comments

  1. My “wait training” is for the salvation and/or Christian spiritual growth and development for my son, son-in-law and two grandchildren!
    The second priority in my “waiting” is for a close relative to have stable employment at a fair wage and a reliable vehicle plus much needed dental work that he cannot afford right now.
    Thank you for reminding me of the Scripture you posted today, and for all of your wise words. Bless you and your family!

  2. I’m waiting to see if God will grant me the privilege of being a mom…..my hubby and I have been married 14 years, I’m 40 and he’s 50. The doctors can’t find any reason as to why I haven’t been able to get pregnant and since I always wanted to adopt as well, over 5 years ago we started the adoption process. Now we’ve been on the waiting list for 2 siblings for almost 3 and 1/2 years from Clombia and the last we heard there were still 64 families ahead of us on the list and things are moving at a snail’s pace. Of course our siblings and friends have all had kids already, it seems like everyone else is moving through the phases of life while we seem “stuck” still waiting to be parents as we keep getting older and older. I have been working a lot on really giving it up to God, learning to trust even though I don’t understand, trying to trust that all of this is working for our good. God bless Karen!

  3. We’ve been in the hallway between closed doors for over a year. Every time we try to open one, it locks tight. The latest one we have attempted to walk through is in regards to a cross country job/move for my husband, it looks very much like an open door, but it’s been three weeks and no call back. I haven’t even really been able to blog about the whole thing for awhile, because it’s such a time consuming, energy draining ordeal to sort through. I definitely appreciate your prayers, and your picture with the very familiar message we have received from the Lord ourselves was timely and very appropriate. Thank you.

  4. My husband and I are waiting on the Lord for full funding of the campus ministry we are so eager to get started. We need a home close to campus, money to pay for that home, and I need a job to help pay the bills. I feel like I’ve been waiting for long enough, but it’s obvious God has a different time line! Meanwhile, the bills don’t stop. My perspective on the verse you shared – eagerly wait with patience- is that we should be eager to see what God will do next, but willing to wait for His perfect time.

  5. My wait training issue is waiting to move back to Michigan were all our family is currently living. My husband is in the Navy and we are stationed in Virginia. My brother and his wife are having their first child at the end of October, my first niece. I am going to miss so much of her life. I want to live by my family so much, I miss them everyday. I have been with my husband for eleven of his Navy years. He should be retiring next year but because of our last move we have to stay another year. It is killing me to know I still have two years until we can move. Praying a job will be open near them when we do retire.

  6. i’m waiting on my husband.. i guess. he left me in jan to be with another woman. says he was unhappy. we’re still married, but i’m waiting for the lord to either bring us back together or part us forever. not my call, i’m either eagerly awaiting my husbands return or i’m eagerly awaiting my next season of life.

    1. J– My heart goes out to you. I have walked this road with several friends before. May God be so very real to you as you wait and pray.

  7. Karen, My son struggles with depression and anxiety and at times uses marijuana to make himself feel “better”. I worry about him so. I pray constantly for him. I ask that you pray for him to grow closer to the Lord and stay away from drugs. Thanks!!!

  8. Karen, thank you for your willingness and eagerness to pray for your sisters! I, too, need to learn to wait. To wait on God´s work in my girls´ hearts (they´re 6). I so desperately want them to love God, but I need to be willing to wait on God´s purposes for me and for them, while being faithful in training in His ways. To accept that they´re His, and not act like I´m going to be the one to change their hearts. I´m also waiting for my husband´s business to consolidate so we can get out of debt and provide employment for others. Thank you for your prayers!!

  9. Karen, what daily Bible reading plan do you use? I think I need something like that! Boy, I’m waiting on direction concerning my hubby’s job situation and God’s plans for me (I’ve been a stay at home mom since we had kids). I’m not always clear on what I’m supposed to be doing while waiting on the Lord!!! Thanks for your great blog.

  10. I’m waiting to hear back from a publisher, and my head is full of things. I know God wants me to do this. I know His timing is perfect. I know that I need to persevere and not give up. I know I have a lot to learn. I am one day hopeful, excited, even; and the next discouraged and down. But I’m waiting. Eager – yes! Patient? Hmm.
    Thankyou for this.

  11. My Godly parents were stabbed to death in their home April 25, 2011. Detectives have been working relentlessly to bring their killer/killers to justice. No arrests have been made to date. They are still sending samples for testings – it all takes so long – not at all like CSI! The community, my family and I are all anxious for resolution and justice. Everyday I think this will be the day I get the call saying arrests have been made. I know God is in control but the waiting is still hard! Thank you for all you do!!

  12. My waiting issue looks like a “knot on the tapestry of life”, So, Glad GOD sees the upside of the picture. We have been in probate for 4 years, living in substandard housing. I need a job, but feel GOD is holding back so that I can be home to help the family through emotional issues and my husband only works 4 hours a week. (I work about 50 hours a month, cleaning our church)

    I went back to school thinking I would get a good job at graduation and all would be well. That was 3 years ago, I graduated in May….no job yet, no making things well yet…
    Jeremiah 29:11 keeps me plugging on, day by day.

  13. What to do next. I am the stay-at-home mom of 2 boys ages 4 and 7. I have provided childcare in home for the last 5 years. I have a teaching degree. I would LOVE to keep staying home once my little guy is in school, but my husband lost his full time job 2 years ago. He has found 3 part time jobs that pay the bills, but our boys still qualify for Medicaid, and we have to buy our own health insurance. The logical side of me says I go looking for a full time teaching gig next year so we can have health insurance (without the $5K deductibles-each). My emotional side really wants to be the involved mom in my sons’ school. So I am trying to figure out where God wants me….and not getting ahead of Him.

  14. Waiting for our life to look like what I want it to is my biggest struggle. We have young children, but are 42 and 48. We should have “made it” by now, right? I forge ahead with my plans rather than waiting on God’s. What a wonderful reminder of His all sustaining power that gives me the ability to wait with “patience.” THANK YOU for posting this….boy did I need to hear it.

  15. My waiting issue is with my husband, Bill’s employment. I am disabled and unable to work and we live in an area where salaries are much lower then they are in NJ, where we used to live. As a result, my husband has to work 7 days a week, at two different jobs ,so we can make ends meet. My prayer is that God would provide him one position, that uses his skills and pays well enough that he can work only one job. He actively searches for positions that will use his skills and does what he can to provide for us. <3 your blogs!!

  16. Thank you for this post, I really needed it today. My wait training issue is for my husband to get a much needed job promotion. It was supposed to happen a year ago but we are still waiting. I keep reminding myself that God has perfect timing but it is hard to stay focused on that while the bills keep adding up. Thank you!

  17. Ooooo! I needed your message today. I always want to forge ahead of God. I’ve been anxious about seeking new employment, but I really feel God wants me to wait. I don’t want to go ahead of Him and mess up. So I’m waiting for His divine answer to download to my spirit. I need to to remember that He is God and I am not. Thank you Karen!

  18. Wow,your email popped up at just the right time. I didn’t even know I had clicked on it. I am really struggling with wanting to forge ahead on my own instead of waiting on God. I know in my heart & soul that his way is much better & more stress free than my way. Nevertheless, my poor aching heart is very impatient & I’m having issues controlling my emotions. Please pray for me that I will have patience & endure with gentleness. Thank you for this email & May God Bless You!

  19. I’m waiting for the Lord to show me how to take care of people that I know want me to help them My house is too small to move them in, my husband got hurt on the job in May so hasn’t worked all summer, I am currently a caregiver for my mom who lives with me. My hearts desire is to have a farm with a big old house so I can take in the 80 year old who has no family, the friend who lost her job in May with a husband who needs new knees due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis – they have no insurance and the single mom who works from home so she can homeschool her 10 year old son who has been a victim of bullying. I know there is a place for all of us!!!! Thank you Jesus!!

  20. This post came at the most perfect time. Here’s what’s been going on: I am currently pregnant with baby #3, due in 3 weeks. Several months ago we put an offer on a new house, got the approval July 16 (it’s a short sale), all to find out two weeks later that our offer was more than the appraised value of the home. There has been negotiation after negotiation going on since. We keep being told we will get the “official approval” by the end of the week… and every week, nothing! The majority of our home has been packed up for over a month now. My parents are moving into our current home. My dad started a new job in our area a month ago and has been living with us since, eagerly anticipating the day we move out so he and my mom can officially move in! (my mom is still living in their home 8 hours away).

    So, today during my quiet time I asked God what’s going on. I told Him I understand He has perfect timing, but right now everything seems “up in the air” and I just don’t know what to make of all of this. I started reading Psalm 118, which pretty much says “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever…this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. So maybe he’s simply telling me to be thankful for today, and to enjoy the moment of today! Not easy at all All I’ve been doing is WAITING for an answer!!! Ah yes, prayers would be great right now, helping me WAIT ON THE LORD and giving thanks for today!

  21. Hi Karen,
    My wait training issue at the moment is for my husband to get cancer treatment started. He was diagnosed Aug 15 and needs another biopsy done and we are waiting and waiting for the appointment to be made. I SO want to call and pester them at the treatment center but I’m trying to wait on the Lord.

Leave a Reply to Nancy Silvers Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *