https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2Y59SaViacs67rBjBU44KQ

Show Notes and Resources

We want to wait well, even in the craziest of seasons!

How am I waiting?  Am I waiting anxiously or am I waiting expectantly?

So many circumstances or perspectives can lead to or increase anxiety:

  • Covid-related decisions
  • Children’s education
  • Employment changes
  • Others’ responses to or judgment of our decisions
  • Perfectionism

Waiting for a situation to pass or waiting for a new season to begin are different types of waiting.

Waiting of any type is hard!  Sometimes, we wait avoidantly and lack being present in our current situation.  Other times, we wait anxiously with a hyper-focus on our changing situation and lose our joy.  Anxiety is a joy-stealer!

Anxiety can serve a purpose.  It shows us what we care about, and can help point us in the direction we need to move.  Anxiety is not helpful when it overtakes our lives.  It can direct us to plan, prepare, move forward and finish well.

Anxiety can serve as a checkpoint.  Anxiety can be our “alert system.” 

  • How am I feeling?  
  • What is going on?  
  • What do I need to trust God about?  
  • What promises of God are relevant to this situation?  
  • What is the next step God is directing me to take?

Avoidance of any of these steps often points to a lack or trust or a place of insecurity. 

What gets in the way of waiting expectantly and trusting?

  • Overwhelming anxiety
  • Our own expectations of how things will turn out
  • The length of time we spend in challenging situations

We have to hold our expectations loosely!  As we loosen our grip, God can give or take away in His timing.

Parenting gives us a unique perspective on waiting!  As parents, we withhold from our children to give them what they need at the right time.  Similarly, God will take care of us in His way and in His timing.  Often, the ways He works is an opportunity to build our trust.

God reserves and preserves what is for us until we are ready to receive it.  We cannot miss out on or mess up what God is keeping for us.

We wait well by:

  • Trusting God’s promises.
  • Reviewing God’s character.
  • Reflecting on God’s past faithfulness.
  • Identifying lies we may be believing.
  • Talking openly with our community.
  • Seeking peace and balance.
  • Praying.

Psalm 62:5-6 (The Message)

“God, the one and only—  I’ll wait as long as he says.

Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not?

He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul,

An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.”

There is always worth in the wait!  A season of waiting is a gift.

Waiting is a training ground for trust.  It trains us to trust God for the next thing.

We will not come out of a season of waiting empty-handed!

Look for opportunities to practice waiting by slowing down.  Drive more slowly, wait in a longer line, take more steps.  As we slow down, we see what we might have otherwise missed!

Questions for reflection:

  • What am I waiting for?
  • How am I waiting?  Am I waiting anxiously or am I waiting expectantly?
  • Where and how does anxiety show up in my life?
  • What gets in the way of me waiting expectantly?
  • What does waiting expectantly look and sound like?
  • What does waiting well look and sound like?

Resources:

  • Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster
  • The Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard
  • The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen