What To Do While You’re Waiting

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Waiting is no fun. I might be the world’s most impatient person, so I get it. What can we do while we’re waiting on God to answer our prayer? How can we survive our inevitable periods of waiting throughout life?

Whether you’re waiting on a spouse, a child, physical healing, financial relief, a new job, direction for the next step in your life, a new house – maybe you’re waiting on something or someone in your life to change – whatever it is, these words from Psalm 37 speak to your situation.

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TRUST in the Lord

DO good

DWELL in the land

BEFRIEND faithfulness

DELIGHT yourself in the Lord

He will give you the desires of your heart

COMMIT your way to the Lord

TRUST in him

He will act

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37)

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I love what Tara Leigh Cobble says in The Bible Recap:

“God has already set his very good plan in motion, and he’s using it to bless us and glorify himself. We can’t mess it up or derail it! He’s working out his plan – we aren’t living in a question or an uncertainty. We’re living in his plan, right now. Your life isn’t a decision you have to make; it’s a secret you get to hear.”

Have you not heard? I designed it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass. (Isaiah 37:26)

This time of waiting is just as much a part of God’s plan for your life as the thing you’re waiting to happen. When we’re trusting, doing, dwelling, and delighting, we realize that waiting and being still before the Lord isn’t like hitting the pause button on our lives. It is active and it is joyful.

This time of waiting is just as much a part of God’s plan for your life as the thing you’re waiting to happen.

Based on those truths and the instruction from Psalm 37, here are practical ways you can actively and joyfully wait.

#1 Cultivate your relationship with God

“delight yourself in the Lord…”

Read the Bible every day, looking for what you learn about God as you read. Listen to worship music. Make prayer a part of your daily routine, praying God’s promises back to him. Read books that strengthen your faith.

When your spiritual life is growing and active, you won’t feel stuck in a waiting period. Your life will not be on pause, because your perspective will shift. That’s not to say your circumstances will change – they might stay exactly the same – but your spiritual growth will bring a different kind of change.

—> Read more about spiritual growth here.

#2 Enjoy your current season of life

“dwell in the land…”

When you find yourself getting restless and impatient, choose to focus on something you love about this season of your life. Take time to laugh, to rest, and to enjoy life. Cultivating this habit will help you in every season of life.

—> Read More: How to Enjoy the Holidays When There are No Children In Your Home

#3 Find ways to serve where you are planted

“do good…befriend faithfulness…”

You may feel like you have nothing to offer because of the pain or difficulty in the circumstances surrounding your waiting. I am here to tell you that there is always something you can do to serve others, no matter your circumstances.

God has placed you there for a reason. If you ask him for wisdom, he will show you how he wants to use you for his glory.

—> Read More: I’m Not A Parent. Do I Have Anything To Offer?

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These are all things I’m putting into practice every day as we wait on the next step in our adoption process. We are waiting, but we are in God’s plan right now. Is it uncomfortable sometimes? Yep. But is it a journey of joy? Absolutely!

Hugs to you as you wait. ❤