Perseverance While Waiting
Going through a season of waiting requires perseverance in the face of disappointment.
Consider the young person who dreams of being married and having a family yet watches friend after friend find a life partner while waiting for the right person to come along. Or consider the person who has invested many years in a job, working hard and hoping for a promotion, only to see the coworker in the next cubicle get the nod when a better job becomes available.
We hear of people who reach a pinnacle or have remarkable success after years of toil and trial. Brian Snitker, the current manager of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, spent almost four decades coaching and managing at various levels in the Braves organization. He was promoted, demoted, and passed over many times before he finally got his chance to be the “big league” manager in 2016.
Following World War II, after having tried and failed at a myriad of jobs, and at almost 60 years old, “Colonel” Harland Sanders tried to franchise his chicken restaurant. It “was rejected 1,009 times before anyone accepted it. Sanders ‘secret recipe’ was coined ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken,’ and quickly became a hit.”
Both of these men persevered while waiting.
Waiting and disappointment can fill our minds with envy and bitterness. When our hopes and dreams seem futile, we are tempted to give up. In times like these, King David offers helpful and wise counsel: Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:3-4 NKJV). A few verses later, he writes, Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way (Psalm 37:7 NKJV).
David, from experience, shows us that waiting is not a time for indifference or giving up but for purposeful attitudes and activity.
Trust in the LORD.
This is foundational to times of waiting. We must trust He has our circumstances in hand.
Do good.
Even in a season of waiting, we possess God-given talents and resources that multiply in effect as we use them. This ensures that, at the end of life, we hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21 NKJV).
Dwell in the land.
Wherever we are in our seasons of waiting, we “set up shop” and take every opportunity to . . . seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be . . . (Jeremiah 29:7 NKJV). No matter our circumstances, our calling as Christians is to bring the presence of Christ into the place where we are.
Feed on the faithfulness of God.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper (Psalm 37:3 NLT). We find the strength and nourishment to persevere as we draw near to God and remember that He is faithful.
Delight yourself in the LORD.
David says we should keep our attention focused on the Lord. He writes in Psalm 16:8, I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved (NKJV). Our greatest desire and greatest delight should not be the earthly thing we are waiting for, but rather to be near to our God who is always with us.
Rest in the Lord.
God’s will for us is that we have inner peace and rest as we trust in Him, delight in Him, and leave our future in His hands. God provides rest for our anxious souls if we will receive it.
Wait patiently for Him.
Not anxiously or nervously, or restlessly, but patiently. Our season of waiting is leading to a providential destination. Wait on Him.
Do not fret.
While we are waiting, it is easy to look around and see others having success, receiving promotions, or experiencing the joys we would like to have. We wonder, “Why them and not me?” But such fretting is unwise, according to the apostle Paul: But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV).
In our times of waiting, remember that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6 NKJV). Contentment in our times of waiting is possible as we persevere in trusting the Lord, doing good, drawing strength from God’s faithfulness, delighting in God above all things, and letting His gift of rest be our daily experience.
