Hope: The Antidote to Your Waiting Season
Romans 8:24-25 - “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Wait.
This is one of the last words we desire to hear from God. In a culture obsessed with convenience and instant gratification, we go out of our way to avoid waiting. We value speed and efficiency so much that we often overlook the value of just taking a moment to wait.
Could God possibly have the right idea when His plans unfold a little more slowly than we had first anticipated? There may be something to this idea of waiting, not receiving everything we want right when we want it. But what is the value of such an unpleasant situation?
Throughout my life, I can recall many waiting seasons, each with unique difficulties and outcomes, but the ones I experienced early in my Christian walk were the hardest. It took time for me to see why, but I’ve realized that those earlier waiting seasons lacked hope. Not as mature in my faith, I had difficulty giving up control. I wanted God’s will for my life, but not seeing the complete picture was maddening. I would constantly pray for clarity, wondering if I was missing something, and sometimes impatiently taking matters into my own hands, all because I was focusing on what I didn’t currently have instead of hoping for what God would eventually do in my future.
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word antidote as “something that counteracts or neutralizes an unpleasant feeling or situation.” I like to consider hope as the antidote to seasons of waiting. These seasons are challenging and undoubtedly unpleasant at times. While they’re necessary and not something that needs to be removed or fixed, so to speak, before the time is right, there are things that God wants to provide for us to persevere through them. One of those things is hope.
When we’re in the depths of our waiting season, potentially overwhelmed with many negative feelings, focusing only on those negativities can be easy. We can become consumed with feelings of uncertainty, looking for a sign or confirmation around every corner. We can be wrapped up in doubt, convincing ourselves that God has forgotten about us and won’t deliver on His promise. Even thoughts of giving up may enter our minds.
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But I’ve learned that those feelings tend to diminish drastically or entirely go away when we choose to focus on hope instead. Why? Because hope leads to faith, gratitude, and contentment. When we have hope, we can believe that God will come through at the right time. When we know God will come through at the right time, we can be grateful for that. When we are grateful for what we have and will have in the future, we can be content in our current circumstances.
Looking back on my past waiting seasons, if I could have seen myself now, then the past me wouldn’t have been so worried and overwhelmed with uncertainty. I would have been filled with hope, thanksgiving, and awe of God and His power back then.
At one time in my life, I was lonely and praying for a God-honoring husband. Now I’m happily married and building a life with the Christian man I love and who loves me.
When my husband and I were living in a 750-square-foot apartment in the middle of a rising housing market, dreaming of buying a house, we didn’t know we could afford it, praying for God’s direction on where we would go when our lease was up in a few short months. Now we live in our own house, small but blessed by God’s provision.
There was a time when I had cried out to God for purpose in a career after graduating college, pushing against what others wanted me to do and following the path of entrepreneurship that I thought God had for me despite seeing no fruit. Now I’ve turned in my striving businesswoman mindset for the badge of a homemaker and am thriving purposefully, caring for my home, marriage, and future family.
As you read these small testimonies from my life’s story, I hope they give you hope. I was once in your shoes amid a waiting season and will undoubtedly be back there many more times in the years ahead. What got me through was hope that grew a faith in my loving heavenly Father to provide when the time was right, that provided gratitude, that led to a full heart, that provided contentment leading to peace and joy in the waiting.
Don’t give up, my friend. Your waiting season is your growing season, and much fruit will come of it. It all starts with a bit of hope.
