The Waiting Season: When God hits the PAUSE button.

By Jinadu Ibukun

There’s something about waiting that makes us uncomfortable. We live in a fast-paced world where everything is designed to arrive now. Instant food, instant transfers, instant fame, even faith, somehow, is often preached these days like it comes with express delivery.

But what happens when God tells you to wait?

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

If you’ve ever found yourself praying the same prayer over and over, checking your phone for that job callback, watching your mates post wedding pictures, or staying up at night wondering when your breakthrough will come, then you’re in the waiting room. And I know how frustrating it feels because in the waiting season, it often feels like God has gone quiet, it could feel like the doors of heaven have shut against you and everyone else’s door is opening but yours stays shut. It can be hard to not compare and very hard not to feel forgotten. But the truth is God assures us in His word in Lamentations 3:25-26 (NKJV)

THE WAITING SEASON

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

I have learnt and understood that God doesn’t put us on pause because He’s punishing us. He often slows us down because He is preparing us for what’s ahead. Waiting is where character is formed. It is where motives are purified. It is also where faith is stretched beyond feelings.

David was anointed king as a teenager but had to wait over a decade through caves, betrayal, and battles before he sat on the throne.

“David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years”.  2 Samuel 5:4 (NKJV)

Joseph had a dream of greatness but spent 13 years in slavery and prison before the palace.

“Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”                          Psalm 105:19 (NKJV)

Even Jesus, the very Son of God waited 30 years before stepping into a 3-year ministry. If God made even His own Son wait, who are we to demand shortcuts? In this post, I shared 3 heart posture I will encourage us to keep while we wait.

WHAT TO DO WHILE YOU WAIT

1.  A Heart of Continuous Worship

Worship keeps your focus on God’s presence, not your problems.

“Those who wait on 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”.   Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

2.  Keep Busy While You Wait

Waiting isn’t passive, so be diligent, faithful, and excellent in everything you do, even if nobody is clapping yet.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going”. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NKJV)

3.  Have a Positive Attitude

I have come to understand that grumbling delays destiny and gratitude sustains faith.

“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”  Philippians 2:14–15 (NKJV)

CONCLUSION

Sometimes, God delays not because you’re unworthy, but because the blessing isn’t yet ready for you. He’s not just preparing the promise; He’s preparing you for the promise.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

He hasn’t forgotten you and trust me He is not ignoring your tears. He’s just doing what a good Father does, preparing the best, not the fastest. I want to assure you today that you are not being punished, you’re being planted.  

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NIV)

So hold on and stay faithful because your season is coming and when it does, you’ll look back and understand why He made you wait.

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)

References

biblegateway.com New International Version (NIV)

biblegateway.com New King James Version (NKJV)