Waiting On God With Bold Faith

“But waiting is the faith factor. We wait expectantly, and waiting on God is never a waste of time.” ~ Rick Warren

Nothing tests our faith more than having to wait on God to answer a  prayer. When year after year you are still praying the same prayer, it’s easy to get discouraged and lose faith in believing that what you are hoping for will actually happen.

Yet, it takes bold faith to bring our hopes into reality and this faith becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for (Hebrews 11:1).

The Bible is full of stories of people that had unwavering faith. Many had to wait long periods of time on God to fulfill a desire. I marvel at how confidently and patiently they were able to wait on God.

Faith is waiting on God with expectancy and hope.

David is one example of how to wait on God with a steadfast expectation for God to answer. Although God had promised him he would be a king, he had to wait almost 20 years before he was actually crowned. Twenty years is a long time! On top of this, because he was hated by Saul, he was always on the run, hiding. How stressful such a lifestyle would be! He didn’t have the privilege of living a normal life. And yet, in Psalm 27:13-14 David says, “I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.” 

David, in the midst of a very long season of waiting for God, still put his hope in God’s goodness. He encourages us that while we are waiting for our prayer needs to be met, to “wait for and confidently expect the Lord” to respond.

Faith is having confidence in and expecting God to respond to our prayer requests.

Isaiah 40:31 in the Amplified translation, explains how waiting on God means to expect, to hope, to look for God’s goodness. It says, “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power…“

Waiting on God is not a time of angst, or worry, but rather a time of putting your faith in action.  It’s in the season of waiting for God to act on your behalf that you have the opportunity to show God your trust in Him. It’s a time of being so sure of God’s character, His faithfulness and goodness, that you are able to believe and say, “I’ve prayed, and now I will trust and wait expectantly for God’s goodness to burst through for me, because I have the confidence in the fact that God has my best interest in mind and He will, therefore, do what’s good for me, in His way and in His timing.”

As you wait for God to answer your prayers, wait with a peaceful hope and a joyful expectancy.

Do not wait with anguish in your spirit, and doubt in your thoughts, pleading with God in desperation. Because this, dear friend, is not faith. Ask God to help you let go of your fear, urgency, and panic.

The Bible says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. We get discouraged when what we want and are praying for isn’t happening. However, that’s exactly how the enemy wants you to feel. Don’t be fooled by satan’s deceiving tricks. Instead, in your season of waiting, keep your faith sharpened as you wait on the Lord to answer the cries of your heart. As Psalm 112:7 says, “…His heart is steadfast, trusting [confidently relying on and believing] in the Lord.”

It’s in the way you wait that your faith is revealed. Are you waiting on God with hope and expectancy, waiting with confidence that God will give you what you are waiting for, (if it is His best for you), or are you becoming bitter and resentful as you wait?  

Whatever it is you are waiting on God for, tell God as the psalmist does in Psalm 5:3, “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” And then live by faith, and not by sight. Be aware of your words, for there is life and death in the power of the tongue. Speak life giving, words of truth, and not words that derail your faith. 

Let God see your bold faith, that you trust Him wholeheartedly. 

Take steps of faith each and every day in your season of waiting on the Lord. Your attitude, your words, and even your thoughts are ways that put action behind your faith. Dare to take a step of faith by maintaining a radical belief in the God of the universe, the One that sees you, knows you and calls you His beloved.

I encourage you to read about the lives of Abraham, King David, Queen Esther, Nehemiah, Joseph, the Apostle Paul, the woman with the issue of blood, Daniel, Noah, to name a few. These people had radical faith. You and I can develop this vibrant way of living too, by simply choosing to keep our focus on the goodness of God and also by knowing in our heart that He will always do what is best for us.

May we learn to seek Him sincerely, put our hope in Him, and wait expectantly for Him to move on our behalf. May we wait on Him with bold faith.

“The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul; Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” ~ Lamentations 3:24