We all have to wait sometimes. In fact, we probably have to wait for something everyday, whether that's simply for dinner to be ready. Waiting is a part of our normal lives, so if that's the case, why do so many of us struggle with waiting? Especially as believers, we know that "patience" is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), so why do we struggle so much with patience?
I think a big part of it is we don't particularly want to be patient. We know it's what God calls us to be, but we don't want the waiting that comes along with being patient. But as we know, the Holy Spirit is continually convicting us and showing us areas we can grow in, and this is definitely an area where He has shown me I could grown in a few times in my life.
There is a very specific verse in the Bible on waiting that God used to encourage me a lot during college, and I believe He can do the same for others who are waiting for something. The verse is Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
What sticks out to me about this verse is that it says “he shall strengthen thine heart.” He may be wanting to use this time of waiting to grow you in sanctification and conform you more into the image of His Son. And that’s worth everything.
You may be wondering what sanctification is. Christianity.com says this in their article, "What Does Sanctification Mean in the Bible?," "most of the time when Christians use the word sanctification, they are referring to the progressive work of God to make a believer more like Jesus Christ."
If you are truly a born again follower of Jesus Christ, you know there is spiritual growth in your life, even if it's a slow process. That's sanctification.
Romans 8:29 says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
We see from this verse that the fact is, if you are saved, it is absolutely God's Will that you grow spiritually. If you are saved, it is a guarantee that throughout your life God is going to grow you in your relationship with Him.
So, could it be that God wants to use this waiting to make patience, a fruit of the Spirit, more evident in your life and to strengthen your heart? Could it be that He wants to use this time of waiting to make you resemble Christ more than you do now?
I know God used my season of waiting in college to draw me closer to Him and grow me as a believer, and while there were days when the waiting was so hard, I wouldn't change it for a second. Because my ultimate desire is to look like Christ everyday and to lead others to Him.
I hope you will let this time of waiting, whatever it is that you're waiting for, be a time that you look back on years from now as a time of growing closer to the Lord.
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