Struggle to Trust: Waiting on God

When I consider growth of anything, there are always struggles. So, it makes sense to struggle to grow my trust in God. There are so many ways that we struggle in trusting God. Let’s consider some of them and demolish them.

It is taking too long

I wondered for years if I would ever marry. I have a friend in her sixties who is still waiting for marriage. I admire her trust that God has someone for her. She knows the time for children has passed, but says something like, ‘maybe he will be a widow and already have children and grandchildren I can dote on.’ It could be that we wait a long time for God to act. More often than not we try to take it into our own hands and end up making a mess of things. Like Abraham and Sarah. We tend to focus on Sarah, saying that she took things into her own hands in order to have children. Hm, excuse me, but I think Abraham was a willing participant (Genesis 16). And a mess ensued.

Another example is King Saul when he was to go against the Philistines before David’s famous opportunity. The prophet Samuel told Saul to wait for his arrival before beginning the pre-battle rituals. In 1 Samuel 13, we find that Saul was scared and didn’t wait. As a consequence, he lost his throne; it was passed to another family.

While waiting on God

The trust struggle when we wait on God can be brutal. Desperation like Sarah or fear like Saul are not unusual. Paul too waited, in prison a number of times. In 2 Timothy 4, Paul laments that he is alone and asks Timothy to bring his cloak and his parchments. We can then perhaps infer that Paul desired fellowship in his waiting and the opportunity to read the scrolls and parchments, the Word and teachings of Christ.

Paul does not approach the authorities to ask for his release, he does not sleep all day, whiling them away. He does not rail on the situation and complain about the cold. He studies the Word and spends time in fellowship. You could also say that Paul encourages and instructs his fellow believers by writing various letters. Though it isn’t here in these verses, I am certain that Paul also focuses on contentment (Philippians 4:12-13) during his days and thanksgiving in his prayers (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

We too can fellowship, give thanks, study and share the word, be content as we wait on God. Isaiah 40:31 encourages us to wait in the Lord, ‘for but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’ We will not grow weary in our waiting; the Lord will refresh us - that brings true contentment.

I’ve expanded a bit on each of these actions that we can do while waiting on God. I hope you’ll take a look and download here.

Waiting on God - 4 Actions to Take

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May our Lord wrap you in His arms as you wait for His good plan to unfold.