I have a friend who is particularly good at identifying spiritual seasons in her life. With or without the benefit of hindsight, she seems to be able to “sit” in whatever season she’s currently in, while also enumerating the blessings and challenges of seasons that have passed.
She told me recently of a prolonged “waiting season” she was in, when she had to trust God was at work even if she didn’t immediately see the evidence. I don’t think it was a particularly trying season, just a quiet one that lasted long enough to foster doubt if she had allowed it. In her heart, she knew God had called her to the deep purpose of living faithfully, and even to a few more pressing endeavors that were just out of reach. Thus, the waiting.
I certainly can relate to waiting seasons, although I’ve not been astute enough to call it that. My waiting seasons have generally been times I’ve been too quick to give up on good, small habits. Or times when I should have relied on decades of experiencing God’s faithfulness, only to flap around wildly because I didn’t get the answer I wanted when I wanted it.
Mostly, though, my waiting seasons have lacked energy. My mind and heart have taken their cues from the quiet of the season, atrophying despite the opportunity presented by the drop in activity. But I have an inkling that waiting will mark the rest of my life, so I’d like it to count for more than just an intermission between louder seasons.
Resolving to wait
With my friend’s faithful testimony ringing in my ears, here are a few ways I’m resolving to wait out a waiting season:
1. I will stay watchful. A quiet season doesn’t have to result in apathy.
2. I won’t idolize deliverance, as easy as it would be to set my mind on the next, non-waiting season.
3. I won’t go it alone. Like my friend shared her waiting season with me, I’ll look for opportunities to bear witness to God’s work.
4. I will trust the process. I’ll pray for patience and the slow growth of new fruit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). Believing that God is author of every season, I will trust him to reveal beauty and purpose in this one.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by the Illinois Baptist.
