Waiting on the Lord is one of the most difficult, and yet most refining, realities of the Christian life because it calls us to trust Him when we would rather have answers, relief, or control.
The word waiting seems passive – much like waiting for a bus to arrive. But in fact, biblically speaking, waiting isn’t inactive or passive. It is active obedience—surrendering to the Lord’s sovereignty and choosing to trust Him no matter what. In scripture, waiting on the Lord is a patient and hopeful trust in the promises of God, His timing and His character. It is a heart posture of faith, surrender, and hopeful anticipation of God’s plans and purposes as they unfold.
Waiting on the Lord is also something commanded in scripture. Let’s look at a couple examples.
Psalm 27:14 says,
Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Wait for the LORD!
Psalm 37:7 says,
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him
There are more examples in Scripture of waiting – and we will cover more as we go on.
Today, I want to discuss waiting on the Lord in three distinct areas:
- In Suffering
- In Uncertainty
- In The Ordinary
Waiting on the Lord takes on different expressions in each of these circumstances.
WAITING IN SUFFERING
What does waiting on the Lord look like in some of the hardest times of suffering and sadness?
There are times when life just hurts and times when the Lord seems silent in our suffering. The danger in these times is that we can start to lose hope, focusing on the circumstances we find ourselves in and allowing ourselves to believe that God has abandoned us.
We see examples of this in Scripture.
Psalm 13:1-4
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
Here we see David crying out to the Lord, “How long”, asking the Lord if He has forgotten him in the time of struggle and suffering.
Psalm 42 and 43 the psalmist asks the question,
“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
And why are you in turmoil within me?”
As we see in these examples, waiting in suffering doesn’t mean denying the pain and hardship. It is not a grit your teeth and bear it, white knuckling until the Lord moves in your favor. In these scriptures we see the writers fully acknowledging the isolation they feel and the turmoil of their hearts. But waiting on the Lord in these times isn’t just about acknowledgment – it is about anchoring our hope in God while the pain remains. Let’s go back to Psalm 13:5:
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
Because he has dealt bountifully with me.
And Psalms 42 and 43 – what follows the question asked earlier is this:
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
My salvation and my God.
Waiting on the Lord in times of suffering means a continual redirection of our heart to who God is – His promises and His goodness to us. It is trusting Him even when our circumstances say otherwise. These truths are the refuge we need to seek in times of hardship, suffering, and sadness. They are balm to our broken hearts.
WAITING IN UNCERTAINTY
We have all faced times of uncertainty. Those times when we don’t know what is coming at us next. When we are waiting on the unknowns of life – decisions to make, future plans, unanswered questions. Fear of the future is one that often creeps into my heart, especially given the state of the world.
Some of the dangers of uncertainty include expecting immediate direction in the midst of the unknowns. We may begin to distrust God’s timing and in impatience, take matters into our own hands, running ahead to our own solutions. And just plain old fear threatens to cloud our judgment.
Just like waiting in times of suffering, waiting in times of uncertainty is a constant realignment of our heart to the truth.
Psalm 27:13 says,
I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living
Psalm 27 is a stark contrast to the rest of the psalm where David describes the threats and dangers around him. In times of uncertainty, his confidence was firmly rooted in the goodness of God.
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
These verses remind us that in times of uncertainty, when we are tempted to “take control” and lean on our own wisdom – to stop, realign our heart and trust in the Lord.
Waiting on the Lord in times of uncertainty means we refuse to run ahead of God. We resist the temptation to come up with our own solutions and instead, trust in His timing and His guidance.
WAITING IN THE ORDINARY
We have looked at what it means to wait on the Lord in some pretty intense situations – suffering and uncertainty. But what about the ordinary? What about the quiet rhythms of everyday life?
The ordinary is where most of us live – not in dramatic suffering and not in major crossroads of life or uncertainty. It is the day-to-day life we live.
You may be asking, “What could possibly be dangerous about the ordinary?”
We risk passivity in our faith – drifting away. We may succumb to boredom or restlessness with life. We may become ungrateful or resentful in the insignificance of the day to day. We may become lazy in our pursuit of righteousness. Or we may begin wasting time on worthless pursuits. It is in the ordinary where we tend to let our guard down most. We feel comfortable and confident in where we are – no fear, no suffering, no sadness – all is well – right? I would argue it is in the ordinary of life that waiting on the Lord is some of the most important waiting we can do!
We can be assured in this life that sooner or later, we will face difficulties. Whether it is suffering or uncertainty – it will come in varying degrees for all of us. This is why it is imperative that in the ordinary, we are diligent in our faithfulness to and communion with the Lord.
Waiting in the ordinary is faithfulness in our daily obedience. It means resisting boredom, and the craving for something “more significant”. It is saying, “Today I will be faithful to steward my time, treasures and talents”.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men
The ordinary must be taken as a time of refreshment and strengthening of our faith in God and our faithfulness to Him, so that in times of trouble, waiting on the Lord will be our default rather than an afterthought.
We can trust the Lord to provide whatever we need in whatever season we are in. If we are suffering, we can trust that He will provide comfort and that no matter what we face – we are secure in our salvation in Him. In times of uncertainty, we can trust that He knows the answers to the questions, and He knows His perfect plans and purposes in all things. And in the ordinary, we can trust that He is preparing us and offering us opportunities to steward our lives well. I leave you with these well loved verses from Isaiah 40:28-31
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.