How to wait for God

Waiting for God to act, speak or do something we are longing for is a very normal part of the Christian life. The Bible gives us story after story of people doing exactly that – Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Moses, the Israelites in exile, and all of the prophets! There were periods when the people of God waited – sometimes for centuries – longing to be delivered from their enemies and oppressors. 

When Zechariah and Elizabeth received the news that they were going to have a miraculous baby, it must have felt like the breakthrough they had been yearning for. And then came the even more miraculous pregnancy of Elizabeth’s cousin Mary. This little family bore the weight of salvation for the world. 

When Jesus arrived, they assumed it was the deliverance they were all waiting for – and yet it didn’t come in the form they thought it would. In some ways, it was both cataclysmically glorious and a bitter disappointment. John died a brutal death in prison at the hands of a corrupt ruler. Jesus was crucified. Even Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit was “poured out on all flesh” (see Acts 2:17) did not miraculously convert the world. What followed instead was a period of severe persecution of Christians by successive Roman emperors.

Waiting for God is so normal – and yet it is still so hard. So how do we do it well? 

The way to wait

Firstly, it’s important to remember that waiting is part of the story we’ve joined. The Bible tells of a people waiting in hope for something that has only been partially realised. The journey of faith means joining in with the people of God, waiting for more when we can only see with what Paul calls “the eyes of [our] hearts” (Ephesians 1:18). 

In that story, we find many references to waiting in hope. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). And “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame” (Psalm 25:3). On the other hand, the Bible is honest about hoping with no sign of change. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

Secondly, it’s so important to remember that waiting in hope is not an individual burden, but something we do as a community and family. And while we wait, we are called to practise trust and faith – but this is much easier if we do it with others. It means we can encourage one another in so many different ways. 

The power of lament

Most of us need to get better at acknowledging pain and disappointment when we feel it, rather than pretending we’re fine. It’s not a lack of faith to be sad and angry at the gross injustices of life or the seeming lack of God’s intervention. The Bible is full of lament, calls for justice and expressions of longing. So many of the psalms express this: “How long, Lord, how long?” (Psalm 6:3). You can feel the anguish in these cries. 

It is not pain, anger or lament that signal a lack of faith, it’s indifference

The late American theologian Walter Brueggemann talked about lament and protest being an expression of faith, rather than a lack of it. We come to the one who always has the answers – our heavenly Father who knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8) – and pour out our hearts to him. It is not pain, anger or lament that signal a lack of faith, it’s indifference. Protest before God is all part of what it means to be real with him. 

However, in the honest expression of how we feel, it’s also important not to become bitter, as this is corrosive to ourselves and others. One of the ways to prevent bitterness is to keep rejoicing with others – even when we are sad for ourselves – and remembering that wherever we see God at work, this is a cause for joy. 

Keep the faith

So, can I encourage you to keep sharing stories of faith? Tell and retell the tales of God’s provision, promises and how they have been fulfilled, of the big and little ways we see God at work around us, even if those things took years, decades or centuries to come about. There are so many prophecies in the Bible that still haven’t been fully realised. These are testimonies to the ones who have come before us and who believed the promises they had been given would be fulfilled by a faithful God, passing down their faith from one generation to the next. 

Keep praying to be filled with the Spirit. As Paul says, it’s the Spirit who keeps hope alive in our hearts. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). It is the Spirit who testifies that we are children of God and that nothing can separate us from his love (Romans 8:38-39). 

Finally, keep your eyes on Jesus, because that focuses you on the character of God – the one who will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) and whose light shines in the darkness. And stay close to those who know how to wait well, who keep faith alive and who walk in ways that inspire those around them.