Monday Read: The Waiting Room of Faith
Abraham waited 25 years between God's promise of a son and Isaac's birth. Moses spent 40 years in Midian between murdering the Egyptian and leading the exodus. David was anointed king as a teenager but didn't take the throne until his thirties, spending years fleeing Saul. Joseph waited 13 years between his dreams of leadership and their fulfillment. The biblical pattern is clear: God promises, then makes you wait. Sometimes for decades.
We hate waiting. We want microwave spirituality - instant answers, immediate provision, quick fixes. We pray for patience and expect it delivered by Amazon Prime in two days. We ask for character development but resist the slow process that produces it. We want the destination without the journey, the harvest without the growing season, the muscle without the workout.
But waiting isn't wasted time - it's where faith gets forged. Abraham's 25-year wait taught him that God's promises don't depend on human ability. By the time Isaac arrived, Abraham was too old to claim credit; the child was clearly God's doing. Moses' 40 years in the wilderness prepared him to lead Israel through similar terrain. David's years fleeing Saul taught him dependence on God that shaped his kingship. Joseph's imprisonment refined his character before he received his calling.
Isaiah 40:31 promises: "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." But notice what comes first - hoping in the Lord, which means waiting for the Lord. The renewed strength comes through the waiting, not apart from it. You don't get the strength and then wait; you wait and through waiting receive strength.
The problem is we treat waiting like a pause in real life when it IS real life. We think life begins when the thing we're waiting for arrives - the spouse, the job, the healing, the breakthrough. But life is happening now, in the waiting. The person you're becoming during the wait matters more than what you're waiting for. God is more interested in forming your character than fulfilling your timeline.
This matters in mid-February when winter feels endless, when January's failed resolutions make the whole year seem pointless, when you're waiting for something to change and nothing is changing. The temptation is to check out, coast through the waiting, just endure until real life begins. But this IS real life. Right now. In the waiting.
What are you waiting for? And what are you learning while you wait? Are you growing impatient and bitter, or are you developing trust and character? Are you demanding God speed up, or are you asking him what he's teaching you through the delay? Are you treating waiting like punishment, or recognizing it as preparation?
Waiting is where faith becomes real. Anyone can trust God for immediate answers. Waiting to see if you'll trust him when answers don't come - that reveals what you actually believe about his character. The wait isn't empty time to endure; it's sacred space where God does his deepest work in you.
