Resting While You Wait

Resting while you wait? Sounds like an oxymoron to me.

Waiting makes me want to DO something. I’m a multitasker. Surely, I can wait AND get something done. Right?

But what if God’s delays are actually a gift? What if waiting is a kindness? An invitation.

What if waiting is for our good?

When my son started preschool, I thought I’d jump right back into ministry. I finally had some free time, and I was ready to go!

But God said no and closed all the doors.

I struggled HARD with that time of waiting. I felt useless and lonely and out of sorts. I didn’t understand why God wanted me home alone when I could finally be part of something!

One day as I trudged along on my morning walk, I asked God, “Why would you sideline me now? When I actually have some free time to get involved?”

The answer just about knocked me off my Nikes…

“Because I want time for just the two of us. I miss you.”

That started a season of waiting on the Lord, reacquainting myself with Him, and resting my body and soul. I wanted to be out and about and busy, but the Lord knew I needed time to rebuild.

To pause and exhale.

You see, God’s waiting times are often a provision, a refueling, a refilling, a reshaping time. Waiting is for preparation and healing and renewal.

The Bible says, “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Rest is baked into waiting. Waiting gives us new strength.

If you’re in a time of waiting, slow down and be still. Don’t spin your wheels, trying to figure out what’s next. Rest and breathe and remember.

Waiting isn’t a punishment.

Waiting doesn’t mean God is done.

Waiting won’t keep you from God’s best.

And if the waiting seems lonely—if it seems like the world is rushing past as you sit on the sidelines—remember that God is right there with you, holding your hand, planning things you can’t see right now.

Because is good. Because He loves you. And because He’s not done with you.

Not even close.

What are you waiting on the Lord to do? What makes it hard to rest while you wait?

Waiting with you,
Rachel xx