5 Ways to Be Purposeful When Waiting on the Lord - Jeanne Takenaka
Contents
What helps when we are waiting on the Lord to lead us?
Hubs and I are waiting for God’s leading on a rather big life decision. No, I’m not at liberty to share about it right now. Sorry. 😉
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a position where other things in my life are on hold, and I’m simply waiting on the Lord to reveal the next step.
Times when we wait
Sometimes, we wait while we’re doing other things. When we’re awaiting a reply or for someone’s decision. Or, in my case, waiting to hear if a publisher will be interested in my book. We keep moving forward with other aspects of our life
Or when we’re waiting for an answer regarding a medical situation. We’re making decisions about other aspects of life. We give people the time to respond, but life doesn’t pause in the interim.
Other times, we have the choice of whether we wait or charge forward into something.
And there are seasons when all we can do is wait. As in the decision Hubs and I are praying about.
What we’re doing in our wait
Hubs and I have moved slowly with this decision. We’ve taken these steps as we wait for God’s direction:
- PRAY. No surprise there, right? We have prayed and asked God for His clear leading.
- We’re not coming to Him with an agenda. Instead, we’re open to however He leads.
- We discussed non-negotiables that will help inform our final decision.
- We have talked with trusted, close family and friends to get their insights. We want to honor them, especially our sons, by hearing what they think. Some people have brought up talking points we hadn’t considered.
And we wait.
Are we still doing life? Yes. But we’re not making any big decisions until we know God’s leading in this significant one.
Will we move regarding this decision before God shows us our next step? No way.
Things we can do while waiting on the Lord
How do we wait well when waiting is all we can do?
5 Ways to Be Purposeful When Waiting on the Lord—How do we wait well when waiting is all we can do? #tellhisstory #waitingwell #waitonthelord Click To Tweet
Remember, God’s timing is always perfect.
Whether we’re waiting for the Lord to lead us specifically in one direction or anticipating a response to something we’ve said or done, God’s timing is always the best, even when we don’t understand.
Keep moving forward with life
As I wait for an answer about my book proposal, I’m still working. I’ve begun my next book. And I’m doing other writerly things that will only help if I receive a contract.
Be intentional in our waiting seasons.
We can be fully present in the wait. And honesty with our Father helps us to be okay with where we are. God has learning opportunities in each wait. The time spent in the delay doesn’t ever have to be squandered. We waste waiting seasons when we plow through trying to get past the wait and into the next great thing.
If we start to worry in the waiting, let’s realign our thoughts with God’s.
When anxiety starts to take over during waiting seasons, that means we’ve tried to take control of the situation. We need to recalibrate our thoughts and remind ourselves Who is in control. No, this isn’t always easy. But the reminders also help us change our thinking, which helps us in waiting times.
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5 Ways to Be Purposeful When Waiting on the Lord—When anxiety starts to take over during waiting seasons, that means we've tried to take control of the situation. #tellhisstory #anxiety #waitonthelord Click To Tweet
Conclusion
I don’t know when God will lead us toward our next step. But waiting on the Lord’s direction in this season has held more peace and rest than I’ve experienced in a long time. There’s something freeing about having no control over the answer and trusting God while we wait for Him to reveal His best plan.
The next time we find ourselves in a waiting season, let’s choose to wait with anticipation, believing God is working behind the scenes while we wait. Let’s choose an anticipating heart-set, trusting that God is using our waiting times, even when they’re difficult.
What about you? What helps you wait well in seasons of delay? What do you do when waiting on the Lord?
Next week, we’ll link up at Donna’s at Serenity and Suffering. Be sure to bookmark this so you can find it easily. 😊
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Each week we gather here as storytellers, word weavers, and encouragers to make His name known. Our story is God’s story and this small corner of the blogging world, where we come together each Tuesday, needs you. This is a place where poetry, snapshots, prayers, and stories find a safe spot to nod in agreement that what we have to say matters. I am glad you are here and would love to have you join the #TellHisStory community. Add your own encouraging post through the link below. Spread some love by visiting your neighbor and leaving your own encouragement. Click here to read more about the #TellHisStory community and find a button to add to your site.
Each week we gather here as storytellers, word weavers, and encouragers to make His name known. Our story is God’s story and this small corner of the blogging world, where we come together each Tuesday, needs you. This is a place where poetry, snapshots, prayers, and stories find a safe spot to nod in agreement that what we have to say matters. I am glad you are here and would love to have you join the #TellHisStory community. Add your own encouraging post through the link below. Spread some love by visiting your neighbor and leaving your own encouragement. Click here to read more about the #TellHisStory community and find a button to add to your site.
