You’re Waiting For A Train (Part II)

As I mentioned in the previous post, this season of waiting has taught me so much about patience and humility. I hope the lessons I’ve learned will be of some insight to you.

1.) Waiting is a verb.

I’ve been there. I know it feels like you are accomplishing nothing. Worse than nothing, like you are actually moving BACKWARDS. I know it feels like a stopwatch is counting down as you stand by, watching everyone else move forward. But please remember, waiting is an action verb. You are definitely DOING SOMETHING, you are WAITING! I have found that it is these times when you feel like you aren’t doing anything, that are the most productive times in life.

 2.) Let yourself be built in anonymity and obscurity.

Waiting is a reality check. Oh, you thought you had it all figured out? You thought you could control your world? Being forced to stop can quickly eliminate any feelings of grandeur. Even if you understand what it is you should do, if you try to use your gifts before you are ready it will be counterproductive. If you enter the spotlight before God completes His work in you, you will not survive. Allow God to build your character so HIS light shines brighter than that spotlight you are so desperately searching for. You are ready to serve God when you are built in anonymity and obscurity.

 3.) Waiting is pruning.

Born and raised in Central Florida (shoutout to Florida’s Natural!) I know a lot about the importance of pruning. If you let a plant grow, without pruning it back every season, it will quickly outgrow its’ skeleton and fall over. It will not produce good fruit, if it produces fruit at all. Use these times to really work on yourself! Relationships, habits, anything that is unhealthy, overgrown or dead needs to be let go. John 15:2 says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” You must take time to rest, learn, prepare, and build your internal structure so you are strong enough to be fruitful and increase in number.

4.) Even the desert can feel like home.

No one likes being uncomfortable! We enjoy living within our bubbles of satisfaction and safety, making it hard sometimes to step out in faith. You can be in a situation that you know is probably not the best, but you’re used to it. It’s all you know. Remember the Israelites who wandered in the desert? Even with the promise land IN SIGHT, it was difficult for them to leave what they knew behind, and step forward into the unknown (Deuteronomy 1:26-33). Know that if you spend enough time in the desert, it can start to feel like home. So pay attention and try not to get too comfortable!! You don’t want to miss the land God has promised you.

 5.) Sometimes God is waiting on you to wait on Him.

You know that friend? The one who can never be on time. We all have one. Anytime I meet mine somewhere I find myself waiting a good 10-15 minutes for them to arrive. I obsessively watch the door for them to come through, checking my phone in case they decide to be courteous for ONE SECOND and let me know what’s happening!! When I hear someone come in, I look up in eager anticipation. It is these moments in our spiritual walk that we watch more readily and listen more intently. The only thing we can do while waiting is LOOK for the person we are waiting for. This makes it so much easier to see God when He walks through those doors, ready to reveal our next step.

Remember, periods of waiting are extremely hard, there is no denying that! But take courage in the fact that they are also extremely necessary and beneficial. Sometimes it’s not that God isn’t speaking to us, but that WE have become deaf to His words.

So, in order to press forward into God’s will, you must first;

(1) Accept that you are waiting

(2) Allow God to build you 

(3) Prune

(4) Get uncomfortable

(5) Look for Him