5 Things To Do In The Waiting Season | Fuel For The Weekend

I am thankful for another weekend to spend with my family. I am a nurse and before that I worked in the medical field for decades and mixed in retail as well. Many weekends were spent working and while I am thankful for the opportunity to help provide financially for our family, it is a big blessing when I have a job that allows me to be off Saturday and Sunday. This particular job I currently have allows me to have Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays off, but like I mentioned yesterday this week has been crazy so I was able to work today to make up for some missed time and I am grateful.

I have been wondering what Holy Spirit would have me share for this week's Fuel For The Weekend blog post. I learn as much as I teach many weeks as Holy Spirit opens my eyes to hidden truth found in God's Word. I hope you are learning and growing as you join me on this blog each week. For those of you who check back each Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday: thank you so much.

I want to offer five things we can actively do in the waiting season. We do not have to sit and wait, we must be doing something while we wait on the promises of God to come into fruition. Let's look at what the Bible tells us to do while we patiently wait for God to answer our prayers.

#1 BE BRAVE

PSALM 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

The dictionary definition from Oxford Languages defines courage as "the ability to do something that frightens one," and "strength in the face of pain or grief." Often we do not know how or when God is going to answer our prayer. While we wait we must be brave in the face of the unknown. It requires a spiritual strength when we have lost something to keep hoping and believing. You can be in a place of provision, where God clearly has His hand on you and your situation but it can still feel like loss and grief because the promise is not fulfilled yet. We are waiting on our home. We have no idea when we will get it or where it will be, and honestly we are praying for guidance as to where to look, but we know God has the perfect home for us in mind and it is reserved for us. He has promised it to us so we will have good courage and press on.

The beauty of this scripture is the promise that when we wait on the LORD with good courage God will strengthen our heart. He will give us the strength to face the pain or grief. He gives us the ability to do something that scares us. We wait and trust and continue to hope and He strengthens us to have the courage we need to keep believing when our circumstances do not change. Are you willing to do this? I am!

#2 KEEP PRAYING

ACTS 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me.

ACTS 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.

In the book of Acts, Luke tells us that Jesus had commanded them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. They did not know exactly when the promise would come. They were told to go and wait. Later in the same chapter we know that 120 were gathered in the upper room waiting for the promise. The Bible says they continued, so that means they did not pray once or twice and give up. They continued with one accord. If you are praying with others get into the same accord. If you are praying by yourself, then get into accord with Holy Spirit because no matter who all is praying, you must agree and have the same mindset: not doubting, but believing. They continued in one accord in prayer and supplication.

Prayer and supplication are similar but different.  Prayer is asking God for something or thanking Him for something. It is when we request something for ourselves or make intercession for others. Supplication is more urgent. It is like begging, pleading, urgently requesting, in an earnest, humble way.  We know God heard our request for a home. We still pray and ask God to order our steps, lead us to the right bank lender, the right realtor, the right home. Every step we take we are asking God. Sometimes we are praying for His favor and His help, and other times we feel so desperate we begin in prayer and it turns to urgent seeking God in supplication for our home. We must not stop praying. We must continue to not only ask, but wait for the promise.

Everyone is waiting in the upper room in the same mindset in prayer and supplication. They continued day after day seeking God and waiting on the answer. We must do this, too. Do not give up or think that your prayer didn't matter to God. It does matter and the answer is on the way. Keep praying and keep seeking the answer, with expectation that the answer is coming!

#3 EXPECT IT

JAMES 5:7 Be patient, therefore, brethren unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

It is springtime and many people have started planting seeds for their gardens. Some plant flowers, but many have been showing their plants for lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. The Bible says we are to be patient like a farmer who waits for the precious fruit of the earth and has long patience for it. This is some long waiting, some long-suffering. We are told to wait a while on some things. Yes, this is encouraging us to wait on Jesus to return, but it can also be true of waiting a while on things God has told us He would bless us with and we just don't see it yet. 

Let's think like a farmer for a moment. The farmer has to get the ground ready first. There is some plowing that goes on. The ground is turned over, the rich soil revealed and things get messy. Anyone following me? Has things in your life got messy as God is turning over the rich soil buried beneath the crusty core of the surface? He is about to plant some seeds and it's going to be amazing! The seeds go into the fertile soil. The farmer does not spend any length of time planting and get up the next day only to throw his hands up and walk away in disgust that there is no harvest! He knows it is going to happen. He knows he has to wait. He knows it is going to take some time for the seed to take root and then burst through the surface of the ground and then be taken care of so weeds and pests do not destroy the crop. God is giving us blessings that take a lot of work and God is the worker! He is doing a lot of things behind the scenes, underneath where we cannot see what is going on. In the spiritual realm He is lining things up, moving some things, strategically placing things in order so He can give us what He promised us. Will we wait with patience? Will we continue to expect the answer, or just walk away when God's calendar and ours don't line up? I promise you, His timing is best!

#4 BE CONFIDENT

HABAKKUK 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

What an incredible verse! The promise God gave us is for a specific time. God knows the house is not for us right now. It is coming soon and I believe that with all of my heart, but this is not the right time. This verse is saying to wait for it. That was such a popular saying on television a few years ago, "Waaaait for iiiiiit!" That is what we are being told now. Wait for it! It is going to happen just like God promised and we have to keep on trusting that it will. We can have confidence because the Bible says it will surely come. It is going to happen. It is not delayed. It is strategically planned by God for an appointed time to happen. If it has not happened yet then we have to just keep waiting with confidence knowing it will come soon! God is keeping His promises to His people. He is not a liar. He is not being mean. He is not overlooking us. He is not forgetting us. He is not changing His mind. He is not giving the promise to someone else. We will have what He has in reserve for us when it is the right time. His timing is not ours, but it is always right on time!

#5 HAVE HOPE

ROMANS 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

How do we wait well in this season? I think this verse spells it out perfectly. If we hope for what we do not see, then we wait patiently for it. We must not lose our hope. The devil comes to discourage us. He tells us lies that we are forgotten, or we misunderstood the promise God made to us. He distorts the truth until we lose our hope and give up. Friends, let's not lose hope! If you have lost hope, then get your hope back! Hope in the Lord! Psalm 38:15 says, "For in Thee, O LORD, do I hope: Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. He hears us and we can keep our hope in Him. It does get tiresome waiting, but we must not faint. We must not grow weary in well doing, according to Galatians 6:9. And one final scripture that I want to add is in Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Yes, we hold to hope and wait on the LORD to answer our prayers. We know He hears us when we have become His children and earnestly seek Him. He is listening. Do not believe the lies of the enemy. God is for us and not against us. He is making good on every promise He has given. Trust Him and keep hoping! Get your hope back if you lost it. Just meditate on the scriptures and the hope will rise up in your heart!

Father God, I want to pray for all of us in this season of waiting. God I know that many of us are in the long-suffering season, but as the farmer waits for the good crop in time, we know we can wait with expectancy, too. God I ask that You strengthen my brothers and my sisters as we wait on the promises we were given. We thank You and praise You for hearing and answering our prayers. May this blog post uplift and encourage my brothers and sisters who read this message of hope and encouragement. God we know the waiting season is long, but that only means we have a wonderful season of harvest just beyond the horizon and it's going to be so worth the wait! Thank You for being patient with us and for strengthening us! Thank You for the refreshing and renewing You are doing in our hearts and lives. Thank You that the answer is on the way! In Jesus' precious name! Amen!!!

Friends, I hope you have a safe, fun weekend. I hope you are able to enjoy it and get some time to be alone with God. I will be doing these five things as I walk out this tiring season of waiting. It has been fruitful and productive and oh, so necessary! I pray that something I have shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens