Finding Hope in the Waiting - iBelieve Truth - July 15, 2024
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
When I first became a Christian, Psalm 27 was a passage that truly resonated with me. It gave me comfort in my darkest days and helped me to know God is always with me. The same is true for you—God is always with you, and He is surrounding you with His love, care, and protection. We never need to doubt the Lord’s goodness or the manner in which He saves us in our day of trouble.
Many times, I have been left in the waiting, which has caused me to doubt God’s saving grace. While I know salvation has already been bestowed upon my soul because of placing faith in Jesus, I have still longed for God to save me from the troubles of my life. Maybe you have also felt this way. You know you are blessed with salvation, yet you still yearn for your present trouble to be over.
The waiting period can be anything but pleasant, and it can cause our overall well-being to suffer. Something that we have to do is to learn to be patient during this time of waiting. We can find hope in the waiting by relying on Jesus. Never does the Lord call us to wait when it is unnecessary. Everything the Lord does is for our own betterment and growth.
You are going through this waiting period right now for a reason. Choose not to fight it. Allow Jesus to teach you what He wants you to know during this time. Wait on Him, be strong and take heart, and continue to wait for Him. This can be a struggle, yet we will experience many blessings and lessons the more we surrender to His timing.
We need to put down our armor and allow God to fight for us. Rather than taking matters into our own hands, we need to place them in His hands. In this waiting period, choose to find hope in God. Refrain from trying to control the situation and allow God to steer your life in the direction you should go.
You might be in the waiting period right now because you are waiting to be delivered from a hardship at work, the pain from the ending of a relationship, or uncertainties about the future. Trust God with all of these things and continue to patiently wait on Him. He is the One who is in control of the why behind our waiting, and we would be wise to trust Him.
God knows what is best for us, and sometimes this means being still and waiting on Him. During the waiting period, think of ways you can enrich your growth in the Lord. Start being more active in Bible reading and prayer. You could also start going to church if this is something that you haven’t done in the past. Try to get involved and serve alongside the local believers in your area.
God is always teaching us something, yet we are often being taught more clearly in the waiting period. The waiting period causes us to have no distractions when it comes to the Lord. Since we are waiting for a prayer to be answered, we are more prone to keep Him at the front of our minds. This alone could be a lesson God is trying to teach us—that we need to always keep our hearts and minds focused on Him whether we are in a waiting period or not.
Psalm 27:14 teaches us the beauty of waiting on the Lord. We do not need to lose heart nor do we need to grow weary. God will answer our prayers at the appointed time. All we have to do is relax and trust Him. God is fully trustworthy and faithful (Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:3). Never feel as though He is not. Think of all the times He has delivered you in the past and allow these memories to bring your heart hope.
Find hope in the Lord during this waiting period. In Him, we can have hope, and this hope is a sure foundation. It is not based on things of this world—it is based on Jesus and His love. This waiting period will not be the last as we need to know how to navigate waiting periods in the future. We can do this by finding hope in the Lord, turning to Him, and trusting in Him.
Let's pray:
“Dear God, I have a lack of hope in my life when I’m going through a period of waiting. Please help me, God, to be patient and have hope in You. Just as Psalm 27:14 says, help me to wait on You, be strong, and take heart. I cannot do this on my own—I need You. This waiting period will not endure forever, but please give me hope of this sure fact. In the time of waiting, help me to grow and cultivate my relationship with You. I praise You God, and I ask this in Your Son’s Name, Amen.”
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If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
