Why does waiting on God feel difficult sometimes?

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind.

• Isaiah 40:31 (MSG)

This passage from Isaiah gets a lot of attention in Christian circles. It’s used as a quote nearly everywhere, from every other contemporary song to a pillowcase in a Christian bookstore. Like everyone else in the world, we like to find things to cling to, but are we clinging more to the message than the intent of the message itself?

Have you thought about what it means to wait upon the Lord? Have you thought about why Isaiah felt the need to talk about it? 

Let’s take a look at what it means to wait on God and why it is more active than it is passive.

What does it mean to wait on God?

When it comes to waiting, many of us default to the contemporary understanding of the word. It essentially means to be patient while time passes until an expected event takes place, such as meeting a friend at a cafe at a specific time. However, with God, this isn’t exactly what Isaiah meant when it comes to waiting.

Waiting on God is a spiritual discipline. It is the active hope in His promises. It is the active dependence upon and obedience to God, even when it seems like He is not there. It is meant to be challenging to help us grow closer to Him as we seek Him out and trust and hope in His promises and His goodness.

Like we mentioned earlier, this is an active task more than it is a passive one. To grow more spiritually and cling onto hope, you must take some actions, which could include:

• Prayer — When we pray, we should pray humbly but with hope in God’s power. What this means is to pray and thank God for His wisdom and guidance, for example. We mean to pray earnestly in forming a connection with Him, not to turn Him into a message board for dozens of requests.

• Worship — For many of us, worship is an activity done through music sung in honor of God, but worship is much more than this. It is how we live our lives. Worship can be as simple as gardening but taking a moment to pray and reflect on the wonder of God’s creation as you work with it. It can include going to work and being an ambassador of Jesus among your co-workers.
  
  Can you think of some other ways you can worship in your daily life?

• Community — We are called to wait upon the Lord, which is very much a personal thing between you and God, but it is also communal. We can all be a part of a body of believers in a faith-based community who commit these acts of waiting together. This helps with encouragement and support when waiting is not easy or when life gets hard.

Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey

At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. Do you want to grow in your faith, or are you simply curious about who this Jesus guy is? You’re not alone. We encourage you to listen to our series online and welcome you to come to one of our Sunday morning services in Valrico, Florida.