3, 2, 1…Pause

Delays are not always God’s denials.

Pastor Ken Whitten - National Director of Pastoral Leadership at the North American Mission Board

In the midst of a season of waiting, time seems to stand still. Our minds overflow with wondering, wishing, and dreaming. It’s like pieces of a puzzle we anxiously want to put together but cannot get a running start.

I’ve often found myself losing hope when I’m waiting. As the days pass by, I wonder why it can’t just be my turn or what did I do to make God so upset with me. Both of which are so far from the truth.

Pity for ourselves tends to multiply when we think we should have something that we do not. The idols of comparison and jealousy can and will wreak havoc on our souls. They can spur decisions that may not have our best interests in mind.

So what do we do in a season of waiting?

Particularly those seasons that appear to have no end in sight.

Pause.

I don’t know about you, but one of the worst things I can do when I’m overwhelmed, anxious, or undone is to keep on spiraling all of the emotions. I start letting my feelings drive the car and it leads me further away from where I want to be. All that does is make everything worse.

What I need is to stop, regroup my mind, and recenter my thoughts on what I know to be true, rather than those thoughts wearing me down. I need to pause and take a deep breath. In that pause I need to focus on God - the mighty One who holds all things in His Hands.

1 Corinthians 14:33 ESV says - God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

God’s ways are perfect. Mine are not. I cannot tell God that my ways are better. Our God is faithful. I know without a shadow of a doubt that He will not lead us astray. I know this because God continues to lead me safely through some tough stuff.

It may be hard for a little while in the waiting. Our patience and character are tested in these seasons.

God doesn’t always mean “no” immediately. Perhaps there is something yet on the horizon far greater than we could ever imagine.

May we become people who wait well. May we pause in the midst of trying times and seek wisdom from God for all of our steps. Trusting that His plans are far greater and that even though the waiting seasons are hard, we trust His leading and Truth to bring us out on the other side.