Waiting - a Spiritual Discipline

Photo image courtesy Nicole O'Meara

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." – Psalm 40:1 (ESV)

Our international adoption began with about six months of paperwork. Once the paperwork was completed, my husband and I were put on a wait list until we could be matched to a child (or children). At that time, most parents were waiting six months to a year to be matched. But just as we turned in our paperwork, a major change took place in the country we were adopting from, and the wait list immediately slowed to a crawl.

Six months went by.

A year.

Then another year.

Waiting to be matched in our adoption process was maddening. There was nothing I could do to speed the process along. It was out of my control.

We’re all waiting for something. 

Sometimes, we wait with glad expectation, like waiting nine months for the birth of a precious baby. 

Other times, our wait is filled with pain and sorrow. The mother who longs for a baby but has not yet held one of her own waits with a burden of questions, a fragile hope, and jars full of tears.

Waiting is one of the methods God uses to shape our faith. Waiting forces us to face our limits. When we don’t have control in our lives, waiting is an opportunity to practice what we do have control over, knowing who God is and what God can do.

While we waited to be matched in our adoption process, God revealed places in my heart that I had not yet surrendered to Him. For over two years, we waited to be matched. I didn't know it at first, but I needed that time to work with a godly counselor, identifying my misunderstandings and replacing them with what is true about God.

Thus began my practice of waiting as a spiritual discipline. God had called me to wait differently, to wait patiently with hope not by what I do but by what I don’t do.

In Waiting Isn’t a Waste, Mark Vroegop says, “Instead of seeing waiting as something that happens to you, I’d like you to see waiting as something you choose to do. . . What if it’s an act of hope-filled, gutsy faith?” (p.76)

Waiting differently is a type of spiritual discipline. It takes practice. It takes strength from outside ourselves to wait without despairing. That strength comes only from the Holy Spirit. As we practice waiting differently, God shapes us.

Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord.” But look at how The Message puts it, “I waited and waited and waited for God.” Waiting is slow. Sometimes, God asks us to wait on Him for an undetermined amount of time. Oh, how much easier it would be if we just knew how long the wait would be. Then we could make a paper chain, tear off a link each day, and watch the chain grow shorter. But how much more our character can be formed into the likeness of Christ by waiting for God, and waiting and waiting and waiting some more.

God will not disappoint. The rest of Psalm 40:1 says, “he inclined to me and heard my cry.” God is present with us in our wait. Strengthening us. Giving us hope. Giving us peace.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What are you waiting and waiting and waiting for?

2. How does seeing waiting as a spiritual discipline help your faith grow?