Lesson 76: How to Wait on the Lord
Waiting can be one of the most difficult parts of following God.
A believer may know what he desires but not when—or whether—it will occur.
He may be waiting for:
direction;
an opportunity;
employment;
healing;
restoration;
relief from a burden;
the fulfilment of a responsibility;
or the next stage of life.
Days become months.
Months may become years.
The believer begins to wonder:
“Have I misunderstood?”
“Should I make something happen?”
“Am I wasting time?”
“Has God forgotten me?”
Scripture does not present waiting as empty space between important moments.
Waiting is itself part of discipleship.
Wait on the Lord
David wrote:
“I had fainted,
unless I had believed to see
the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD:
be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the LORD.”
— Psalm 27:13–14, KJV
David connected waiting with:
belief;
courage;
and strengthened faith.
Waiting did not mean that no danger existed or that David felt no strain.
He said he would have fainted if he had not believed.
Waiting upon the Lord is the refusal to surrender hope merely because the desired outcome has not yet appeared.
Waiting Is Not Doing Nothing
Biblical waiting is active dependence upon God.
The person waiting upon the Lord may still need to:
work;
plan;
learn;
seek counsel;
complete responsibilities;
prepare;
pray;
serve;
and make wise decisions.
Waiting means refusing to force what God has not given us the right or ability to control.
It is possible to be extremely busy while refusing to wait on God.
It is also possible to appear inactive while neglecting duties God has already made clear.
True waiting combines trust with obedience.
Wait Upon the Lord
The object of waiting matters.
A believer is not merely waiting for:
circumstances to improve;
another person to change;
a door to open;
or a feeling to return.
He is waiting upon the Lord.
The desired event may matter deeply.
But God Himself must remain greater than the event.
Otherwise, waiting becomes:
“I will trust God only if He eventually gives me this particular outcome.”
Biblical waiting says:
“I will continue trusting and obeying God while I ask Him for what I desire and submit the result to Him.”
Waiting Exposes What We Trust
Delay brings hidden beliefs to the surface.
It may reveal that we trust:
our schedule;
our plans;
another person;
financial security;
or the ability to control the future.
When those things remain uncertain, anxiety and frustration rise.
The waiting season asks:
“Is God still worthy of trust when I cannot control the timing?”
“Will I obey Him if the path develops more slowly than I expected?”
“Do I desire the gift more than the Giver?”
Waiting can uncover idols that immediate fulfilment would have concealed.
God Is Not Weakened by Delay
Isaiah asks:
“Hast thou not known?
hast thou not heard,
that the everlasting God, the LORD,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary?
there is no searching of his understanding.”
— Isaiah 40:28, KJV
We become tired.
God does not.
We lose track of details.
God does not.
We may fail to see a solution.
His understanding remains perfect.
A delay does not mean God has become confused, distracted, or unable to act.
The waiting believer rests not in his own endurance but in the everlasting God.
Waiting Renews Strength
Isaiah continues:
“He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might
he increaseth strength.”
— Isaiah 40:29, KJV
Then:
“But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.”
— Isaiah 40:31, KJV
Waiting is not merely surviving until the desired event occurs.
It is receiving strength from God to continue within the present season.
Sometimes God gives strength to soar above an obstacle.
Sometimes He gives strength to run through demanding work.
Sometimes He gives enough strength simply to walk without fainting.
The quiet strength to continue another day is still God’s provision.
Renewed Strength Does Not Always Feel Dramatic
A believer may expect renewal to feel like sudden emotional power.
Sometimes it does.
At other times, renewed strength appears through:
getting out of bed;
completing necessary work;
praying honestly;
refusing temptation;
attending church;
or taking the next responsible step.
Do not despise strength because it arrives quietly.
If God helps you obey today, He has supplied something valuable.
Trust and Do Good While You Wait
Psalm 37 says:
“Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land,
and verily thou shalt be fed.”
— Psalm 37:3, KJV
Notice the two commands:
Trust.
Do good.
Waiting is not permission to stop doing what is right.
You may not know when the larger matter will change.
You can still:
tell the truth;
care for your family;
work diligently;
serve faithfully;
keep your promises;
and treat people with love.
Do not neglect today because you are preoccupied with tomorrow.
Delight in God During the Delay
The psalm continues:
“Delight thyself also in the LORD;
and he shall give thee
the desires of thine heart.”
— Psalm 37:4, KJV
This verse is sometimes treated as a guarantee that God will give every earthly thing a person strongly desires.
The passage begins with delight in the Lord.
As the heart delights in Him, desires are brought beneath His authority and shaped by His truth.
Waiting becomes spiritually dangerous when the desired outcome consumes every thought and affection.
Continue worshipping God.
Continue receiving joy from Him.
Do not postpone all spiritual life until the waiting ends.
Commit the Way to God
David writes:
“Commit thy way unto the LORD;
trust also in him;
and he shall bring it to pass.”
— Psalm 37:5, KJV
To commit the way is to roll the burden of it upon God.
You still walk.
God carries what lies outside your control.
Commit:
the timing;
other people’s choices;
the final result;
and the unknown future.
Do not confuse responsibility with control.
You are responsible to obey.
You are not able to control every outcome.
Rest Without Becoming Passive
Psalm 37 continues:
“Rest in the LORD,
and wait patiently for him:
fret not thyself…”
— Psalm 37:7, KJV
Resting in the Lord does not mean refusing necessary action.
It means the heart stops attempting to carry God’s responsibility.
You may be working diligently while resting inwardly.
You may be physically still while fretting continually.
Biblical rest is confidence that God remains God while you fulfil the part He has assigned to you.
Impatience Often Begins With Fretting
Fretting repeatedly turns the matter over in the mind.
It watches other people advance.
It calculates what should have happened by now.
It compares.
It assumes delay equals denial.
Then it says:
“You must do something immediately.”
Impatience makes action feel automatically wise.
But hurried action can be disobedient action.
Do not allow the discomfort of waiting to decide what you do next.
Do Not Force God’s Promise
God promised Abraham a son.
Years passed.
Sarah remained childless.
In Genesis 16, Sarah proposed that Abraham father a child through Hagar.
Abraham agreed.
They attempted to obtain through human arrangement what God had promised to accomplish.
Their decision produced lasting sorrow and conflict.
The lesson is not that planning is sinful.
It is that believers must not violate God’s will in order to force what they believe He promised.
A good desire does not justify a sinful method.
Do Not Use Sin to Escape Delay
Waiting may tempt a person to:
enter an unwise relationship;
lie on an application;
manipulate another person;
borrow irresponsibly;
ignore biblical counsel;
or compromise conviction.
The reasoning becomes:
“I have waited long enough.”
But time does not transform disobedience into wisdom.
If the only way to obtain the outcome is to violate Scripture, the path is not from God.
Saul’s Impatience Led to Disobedience
King Saul was instructed to wait for Samuel.
As the people scattered and the pressure increased, Saul offered the sacrifice himself.
When Samuel arrived, Saul defended his decision by pointing to the circumstances.
Samuel answered that Saul had acted foolishly and failed to keep God’s command.
Saul’s situation was difficult.
His pressure was real.
His impatience still led him beyond the authority God had given him.
Waiting becomes a test of whether pressure will overrule obedience.
Pressure Does Not Cancel God’s Command
You may believe:
“I had no choice.”
Often that means:
“I saw no comfortable choice.”
Faithfulness may be costly.
Waiting may involve uncertainty.
But pressure does not authorize:
dishonesty;
immorality;
manipulation;
or rebellion.
Ask:
“What choice remains faithful even if it is uncomfortable?”
God’s command must not be treated as optional merely because the waiting season has become painful.
God Works According to Appointed Times
Habakkuk was told:
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:
though it tarry, wait for it;
because it will surely come,
it will not tarry.”
— Habakkuk 2:3, KJV
The promise had an appointed time.
From the human viewpoint, it appeared to tarry.
From God’s viewpoint, it would not be late.
We must be careful not to claim every personal desire as though it carries this specific promise.
The principle remains:
God’s declared purposes unfold according to His appointed time, not human impatience.
God’s Timing Is Not Carelessness
God does not delay because He forgot to act.
He may be:
preparing people;
closing a dangerous path;
developing character;
arranging circumstances;
or accomplishing purposes beyond our awareness.
We should not claim to know which explanation applies unless it becomes clear.
It is enough to know that God’s timing is governed by wisdom rather than neglect.
Christ Came in the Fulness of Time
Scripture says:
“But when the fulness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law,
To redeem them that were under the law…”
— Galatians 4:4–5, KJV
Generations waited for the promised Messiah.
God did not send His Son too early or too late.
Christ came:
“when the fulness of the time was come.”
The greatest act of redemption unfolded according to God’s appointed time.
The believer’s waiting must be placed beneath the wisdom revealed in the coming of Christ.
Waiting Does Not Mean the Answer Will Match Your Expectation
Sometimes the door eventually opens.
Sometimes God redirects the believer.
Sometimes the desired outcome never occurs in the expected form.
Waiting on God is not a technique for guaranteeing that He will eventually approve our original plan.
During the delay, God may change:
the circumstances;
the opportunity;
or our desires.
Hold the request sincerely.
Hold the outcome humbly.
Hope in God’s Word
The psalmist says:
“I wait for the LORD,
my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope.”
— Psalm 130:5, KJV
Waiting needs a foundation.
That foundation is God’s Word—not an unsupported prediction.
Do not build hope upon:
a dream;
a coincidence;
a private feeling;
or someone’s confident declaration.
Build hope upon what Scripture truly promises:
God’s presence;
wisdom;
grace;
justice;
resurrection;
eternal life;
and conformity to Christ.
God may not have promised the exact earthly outcome you desire.
He has given promises sufficient to sustain faithfulness.
Hope Waits for What Is Not Yet Seen
Paul writes:
“But if we hope for that we see not,
then do we with patience wait for it.”
— Romans 8:25, KJV
Once something is fully seen and possessed, waiting has ended.
Hope operates before visible fulfilment.
Biblical hope is not pretending we know every detail.
It is confidence that God’s revealed promises will prove true.
The believer may not see how present suffering will be redeemed.
He knows the creation will be delivered and God’s children will share in glory.
Waiting Can Include Preparation
Waiting for an opportunity does not mean remaining unprepared.
If you are waiting to serve, learn.
If you are waiting for employment, develop useful skills and apply responsibly.
If you are waiting for a ministry opportunity, grow in Scripture and faithfulness.
If you are waiting for marriage, become a godly and responsible person rather than making marriage the beginning of maturity.
Preparation is not forcing the door.
It is becoming ready to walk through a right door when God opens it.
Do Not Prepare for Only One Outcome
Preparation should remain flexible beneath God.
A person may devote everything to one expected result and become unable to recognize another faithful path.
Ask:
“What abilities and character will remain useful even if God redirects me?”
Prayer, wisdom, holiness, diligence, financial responsibility, and love will not be wasted.
Prepare to obey God, not merely to obtain one preferred future.
Waiting Can Include Appropriate Action
You may need to:
submit an application;
request a medical evaluation;
seek counsel;
have an honest conversation;
or follow up on an opportunity.
Waiting upon God does not require ignoring reasonable action.
The question is whether the action is:
truthful;
wise;
lawful;
and consistent with Scripture.
Act where responsibility is yours.
Wait where control is not.
Do Not Call Avoidance “Waiting on God”
A person may delay necessary action and say:
“I am waiting on the Lord.”
But perhaps God has already made the responsibility clear.
You may need to:
apologize;
seek treatment;
complete paperwork;
apply for work;
establish a boundary;
or make a decision from known facts.
Waiting is not an excuse for fear, indecision, or neglect.
If obedience is clear, waiting may mean obeying now and leaving the result with God.
Do Not Delay Safety or Necessary Care
Waiting on the Lord does not mean postponing urgent medical attention, remaining in immediate danger, ignoring legal deadlines, or failing to protect a vulnerable person.
God can work through:
doctors;
lawful authorities;
financial counsel;
emergency services;
and practical assistance.
Seeking appropriate help is not an attempt to outrun God.
It may be the responsibility He has already placed before you.
Do Not Put Your Life on Hold
Some people treat the waiting season as though real life has not begun.
They say:
“I will serve God when this changes.”
“I will become joyful when the opportunity comes.”
“I will care for others after my problem is resolved.”
But years may pass.
The waiting season is part of your life before God.
You can:
grow;
serve;
worship;
love;
learn;
and bear fruit now.
Do not sacrifice today upon the altar of tomorrow.
Simeon Waited Faithfully
Luke describes Simeon as:
“just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.”
— Luke 2:25, KJV
Simeon waited for the Messiah.
His waiting was joined with devotion.
He did not abandon God because the promise had not yet appeared.
When Jesus was brought into the temple, Simeon recognized that God had fulfilled His word.
His waiting had not been empty.
It had formed a faithful life ready to receive Christ.
Anna Served While She Waited
Anna was an elderly widow who:
“departed not from the temple,
but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”
— Luke 2:37, KJV
She waited for redemption while worshipping and serving.
Waiting did not make her spiritually inactive.
It gave direction to her devotion.
You may not possess Anna’s exact calling or schedule.
The principle is clear:
Waiting time can become serving time.
The Disciples Waited Together
Before Christ ascended, He commanded the disciples:
“that they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father…”
— Acts 1:4, KJV
They did not attempt to begin the mission in their own strength.
While waiting, they:
“continued with one accord
in prayer and supplication.”
— Acts 1:14, KJV
They waited:
obediently;
prayerfully;
and together.
Waiting becomes harder in isolation.
God’s people can help one another remain steady.
Do Not Wait Alone When Support Is Available
Tell trustworthy believers what you are carrying.
Ask for:
prayer;
wisdom;
accountability;
and practical support.
Another believer may recognize:
an opportunity you overlooked;
a danger you minimized;
or an action you should take.
Waiting on God does not mean refusing counsel from His people.
Waiting Requires Patience but Also Watchfulness
A waiting believer should remain attentive.
A door may open gradually.
Circumstances may change.
New information may require a wise response.
Do not become so resigned that you stop noticing what God has placed before you.
Wait without forcing.
Watch without obsessing.
Be ready to obey when the responsibility becomes clear.
Do Not Obsess Over Signs
Watchfulness is not searching constantly for secret signals.
A person may interpret every:
number;
conversation;
dream;
song;
or unexpected event
as a message about the outcome.
That produces confusion and vulnerability to manipulation.
Evaluate opportunities through:
Scripture;
facts;
wisdom;
counsel;
and providential circumstances considered soberly.
God does not require superstition.
Waiting Can Purify Motives
At the beginning, you may want an opportunity mainly for:
recognition;
comfort;
security;
or control.
During the delay, God may expose those motives.
You may begin asking:
“Do I want this because it honors God?”
“Would I accept a less visible form of service?”
“Can I remain faithful if no one notices?”
Waiting may change not only when you receive something, but why you desire it.
Waiting Can Enlarge Capacity
Some responsibilities would crush a person who received them too early.
Waiting may develop:
wisdom;
discipline;
humility;
skill;
and endurance.
Do not assume preparation proves you deserve the opportunity immediately.
Receive preparation as part of God’s present work.
Character often requires more time than ambition expects.
Waiting Does Not Make Every Desire God’s Promise
You may desire something good:
marriage;
children;
healing;
ministry;
employment;
or restored relationships.
A good desire is not automatically a divine promise that the exact outcome will occur.
Pray honestly.
Pursue appropriate action.
Do not tell yourself:
“Because I desire it and have waited, God must give it.”
God remains wise and Lord over the result.
Our hope rests in Him, not in converting every desire into a promise.
God Withholds No Truly Good Thing
The psalmist says:
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield:
the LORD will give grace and glory:
no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”
— Psalm 84:11–12, KJV
God does not withhold what is truly good according to His wisdom and purpose.
The difficult truth is that our definition of good may be incomplete.
Something may appear good but bring harm.
Something painful may protect or redirect us.
Trust allows God to define the good.
There Is a Season for Everything
Ecclesiastes says:
“To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV
It later says God:
“hath made every thing beautiful in his time.”
A season is not permanent.
But we do not control its exact length.
Wisdom recognizes the present season and asks what faithfulness looks like within it.
The waiting season may not be the season for the full outcome.
It can still be the season for preparation, service, healing, correction, or growth.
Waiting Ends in God, Not Merely in an Event
The deepest purpose of waiting is not simply that the believer eventually receives what he requested.
Waiting teaches the soul to seek God.
If the end of waiting is only the gift, the heart may forget the Giver as soon as the gift arrives.
A mature believer desires the answer while also desiring to know, obey, and honor God through the delay.
A Biblical Waiting Pattern
1. Name What You Are Waiting For
Be specific rather than living beneath vague frustration.
2. Examine Whether God Has Promised the Outcome
Separate biblical promises from personal desires and assumptions.
3. Identify Present Responsibilities
Write what obedience requires today.
4. Refuse Sinful Shortcuts
Do not force the result through compromise, manipulation, or haste.
5. Prepare Faithfully
Develop the character, wisdom, and skill useful for future obedience.
6. Continue Doing Good
Do not neglect ordinary duties or present opportunities.
7. Pray and Remain Watchful
Bring the matter to God without becoming obsessed with signs.
8. Receive Counsel and Support
Do not carry a long waiting season in isolation.
9. Rest the Outcome in God
Act where responsibility is yours; surrender what only God can control.
10. Find Your Life in Christ Now
Do not postpone worship, service, joy, or growth until the waiting ends.
A Waiting Examination
What I am waiting for is:
What God has clearly promised is:
What I desire but cannot claim as a promise is:
The sinful shortcut tempting me is:
My present responsibilities are:
The preparation I can begin is:
The action I should take now is:
The outcome I must leave with God is:
Discipleship Questions
- What is the difference between actively waiting upon the Lord and passively neglecting responsibility?
- How can impatience tempt a believer to use sinful or manipulative methods to obtain a good desire?
- Why must personal desires be distinguished from outcomes God has specifically promised?
- What can the examples of Simeon, Anna, and the disciples teach us about serving and praying while waiting?
- What present act of obedience have you been neglecting because your attention is fixed upon a future outcome?
Closing Exhortation
Wait on the Lord.
Do not confuse waiting with doing nothing.
Trust God.
Do good.
Delight in Him.
Commit your way to Him.
Rest without becoming passive.
Prepare without forcing the door.
Act where responsibility is yours.
Refuse sinful shortcuts.
Do not put your whole life on hold.
Do not turn every desire into a promise.
Do not allow delay to become disobedience.
God does not faint.
He does not forget.
His understanding is perfect.
His timing is not careless.
When strength becomes low, wait upon Him again.
He may give strength to soar.
He may give strength to run.
He may give enough strength to keep walking.
Wait, serve, prepare, pray, and obey.
“Wait on the LORD:
be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the LORD.”
A Prayer While Waiting
Father,
You know what I am waiting for and how deeply I desire an answer.
Forgive me for impatience, fretting, comparison, manipulation, and attempting to control what belongs to You.
Show me whether I have turned a personal desire into a promise You never gave.
Protect me from sinful shortcuts.
Do not let pressure persuade me to disobey Your Word.
Teach me to trust You and continue doing good.
Help me delight in You rather than making the desired outcome the center of my life.
Show me my present responsibilities.
Give me discipline to prepare faithfully, courage to take necessary action, and humility to receive counsel.
Keep me from using waiting as an excuse for fear, avoidance, or laziness.
Also keep me from forcing doors that You have not opened.
Give me wisdom to seek medical, legal, financial, pastoral, or practical help when needed.
Help me serve You during this season rather than postponing my life.
Renew my strength when I grow tired.
Quiet my heart when I begin to fret.
Make me watchful without becoming obsessed with signs.
I place the timing, the people involved, and the final outcome into Your hands.
Whether You fulfil my desire as I expect or redirect my path, help me remain faithful to Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Next Step
Write down the main matter for which you are waiting.
Then divide it into four sections:
What God Has Promised
Write only what Scripture clearly guarantees.
What I Desire
State the requested outcome honestly without calling it a promise.
What I Must Do Now
List present responsibilities, preparation, wise action, and necessary help.
What I Cannot Control
Name the timing, other people, open doors, and final outcome you must release.
Choose one present responsibility and complete it.
Choose one sinful shortcut and reject it.
Choose one useful preparation and begin it.
Then pray Psalm 27:14 and continue walking faithfully while you wait.
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