Waiting Well
Suffering, Waiting, and the Promises of God.
We don’t like to wait, do we? The modern American mantra seems to be instant everything. We want our lives as convenient as possible. We order groceries, dinner, and even a ride with just a few clicks on our smartphones.
Keith’s granny used to say, “That’s life in the fast lane.” She would surely be amazed by the technological achievements of today. And while many of these breakthroughs are genuinely helpful, there’s an underbelly I want to talk about today: waiting. Waiting when life is hard specifically.
When we don’t get what we want, when we want it, we often respond like impatient children.
So how well do you wait?
Probably not as well as you think.
We like to imagine ourselves far more sanctified than we really are. Pop quiz: think back to the last time your internet connection stopped working. How did you handle it? If you’re like me, not well. The old woman in me comes out: impatient, rude, and frustrated.
Sometimes God makes us wait. Life doesn’t unfold the way we imagined. We receive a troubling diagnosis. Our parents grow sick. Finances tighten. Marriages strain. We walk through seasons of pain and suffering. This life is painful and we wonder if God is silent when we are suffering and waiting.
To wait well when we suffer, we need an eternal perspective.
Romans 8 reminds us that no matter what we face, this is as bad as it will ever be for the Christian:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
This truth has helped shift my thinking. I often need reminding, like the hymn from Sovereign Grace Music says:
“Whatever my God ordains is right
In His love I am abiding
I will be still in all He does
And follow where He is guiding.”
He is the God of both the mountaintop and the valley. He reigns over all. And in my experience, I have learned far more of Him in the valley. Many nights of crying and pouring my heart out before Him have drawn me closer than comfort ever could. I was looking at baby pictures of Theodore and thinking of my own battle with PostPartum depression. I will likely write more about this but I prayed that God would take the dark cloud over me away. The Psalms were a balm for me. This season was painful and I prayed for relief and wondered if God heard my cries? I know He did and does. It was not immediate though and I had to wait.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” May we all grow in that kind of faith.
This perspective helps reframe our waiting. We may not know how long we will suffer, but we can believe that God is for us. One day, our faith will be sight.
If the outcome isn’t what we hoped for, we can rest in the truth that God has a purpose. God is not cruel. He does not make us wait as punishment, nor does He treat us like a harsh parent. He is long suffering with us, even though we have sinned against Him. We deserve judgment, yet everything we receive from Him is grace.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
He does not lie or change His mind:
“God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind” (Numbers 23:19).
If God calls us to wait, we can trust that He is good and His character is perfect, even when His purposes are hidden from us. We hold fast to His promise:
“For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Nothing can separate us from His love. So, fellow Christian, no matter what you are facing, nothing has the power to pull you away from God. We rejoice in this truth:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”
Christians have endured severe persecution for their faith, yet we are told that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
We cannot lose Him.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37–39).
I pray we will suffer well and wait when the Lord would have us wait. His ways are not our ways and usually His relief is not on our time table. We must believe the promises of Scripture and know God is good. Have you experienced a time of suffering that grew you closer to the Lord?
Thank you for this message today. I think this is exactly what I needed to read tonight. I'm not suffering per se, but I do have trouble waiting sometimes. I was suffering last year around this time. About 1 week before my big 50th birthday, I fell and broke my wrist. During that time, I did have some pity-party moments - things weren't going as planned, I had to wait a lot for help with things that I used to be able to do myself. When I spent time with God though, He would comfort me and when I would go to my PT appointments and doctor's appointments, I would try to pass that comfort and the gospel along to others that I would talk with there.
I try to look at those situations like Paul & Silas in prison. "Okay Lord, this feels like I'm in prison. I didn't choose this and it's not fun. Where's that Philippian jailer that you put me here to reach?" That always shifts my mindset. The jailer was the real prisoner in that account, you know. Paul and Silas were singing because they were free men in Christ. God bless you and the family this week 🙏🙏🙏
2 Cor. 4:17-18
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Waiting well is such a hard but fruitful thing