Waiting Is Not Wasted Time

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
— Psalm 27:14 (KJV)

REFLECTION

Waiting can feel like nothing is happening. We pray, we hope, we watch—and still the answer does not come.

But Scripture presents waiting differently. Biblical waiting is not inactivity. It is an active posture of trust. David does not simply say, “Wait.” He says, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage.”

Something happens to us while we wait.

God strengthens the heart.

We often focus on what we are waiting for, while God may be working on who we are becoming while we wait.

A delay is not necessarily a denial. And waiting is not wasted time when God is using the waiting to deepen our trust, strengthen our character, and teach us to depend upon Him.

The waiting room may be one of God’s classrooms.

Perhaps you have been praying for something that has not happened yet. You cannot make the answer come sooner, but you can choose how you will wait.

Wait with expectation.
Wait with courage.
Wait with prayer.
Wait with your eyes on God.

Waiting on God is never wasted time, because God is at work even while we wait.

PRAYER

Lord, waiting is difficult for me. I want answers, direction, and movement, but sometimes You ask me simply to wait. Teach me not to confuse Your silence with Your absence or Your delay with inactivity. Give me courage to trust You when I cannot see what You are doing. Strengthen my heart as I wait, and use this season to form in me the person You are calling me to become. Help me to remember that while I am waiting, You are working. Amen.

JOURNAL PROMPT

What are you waiting on God for right now? Instead of focusing only on when the answer will come, ask: What might God be forming in me while I wait?