If yo're in a season of waiting on God to answer, here's how to thrive in the waiting room of life.

Waiting: When God is Silent

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Waiting on God’s direction when you are desperate for answers can see overwhelming and frustrating.  The longer that God is silent, the more desperate and restless one may become.

Personally, I have waited through surgeries as I braced for a cancer diagnosis.

I waited, broken and grieving, for my season of infertility to an end and to nestle a baby of my own.

I waited anxiously and nervously for an Autism diagnosis that I prayed wouldn’t come.

I waited some more, grieving the Autism diagnosis, and for God to piece me back together.

While I’ve spent much of the last ten years waiting, we have all waited on the Lord at some point or another.

Here’s how a restless soul can navigate the rocky waters of waiting and learn to trust God through uncertainty.

Are you waiting for God to answer your prayer?  Are you frustrated by His silence and desperate for answers?  Here's how to thrive in the waiting room of life.

Still seek God.

No matter how mad or upset we are in this season of waiting, don’t stop talking to Him.

Pour out your needs and sorrows to Him and pray without ceasing.  Open His Word to find His comfort and peace. His promises are ready to meet your brokenness and to soothe your anxious heart.

Prayer changes our heart, no matter how beaten and battered it may be. It allows us to draw near to the only true source of strength and to find comfort in His powerful presence.

It’s ok to ask God why and to question Him.

As I waited for God to reveal His path to me, often I felt surrounded by darkness. The darkness of grief and sorrow engulfed me, and often blocked out the glory of God’s hope and promises.   Many times I cried out, asking God why He would allow certain aspects of our life to happen.

In my time of questioning and suffering, I mirrored the actions of children who scream and cry for instant gratification.  We, as adults, do that with God; cry, scream and yell, expecting Him to magically produce an answer.

The times I have demanded an answer, He simply held me as I cried and whispered to me that He could take it.

He can take our questions, our rants and raves.

He can take our plea to lighten our burdens.

In those tense moments, He reminds us who He is, the Creator of the Universe. NOTHING is too big for Him to handle.

Let God carry your burden.

God wants us to give our desperation to Him once and for all, despite the waiting and the wondering, 

He wants to carry the weight of our burdens, to take the heavy yoke upon His shoulders and to provide relief for His weary children.

We can relinquish control by praying, releasing our burdens back to Him and seeking His will for our life.

Realistically that means when you try to control the situation or the worrying starts again; stop.  Recognize that you are trying to take control, and ask God to take your burdens from you once more.

If yo're in a season of waiting on God to answer, here's how to thrive in the waiting room of life.

Trust that God will answer in His own time.

Even when it doesn’t seem like it or you can’t “feel it”, God is at work in your situation.

He has a path planned for you and thankfully sees the bigger picture of your life.

The Creator of the Universe knows you by name.

He knows the numbers of hair on your head and the details of a face that He made in His image.

The Bible tells us that He will never leave or forsake us, and when we are in the pit, in those places of darkness, He is there. 

He is comforting us, grieving with us, and sees what we don’t see. In our pain and in our humanity, we have a limited view of our circumstances, but He knows how all the pieces will intertwine.

Even when His plan includes waiting, He is guiding us according to His perfect will.

Remember that God wants His name to be glorified.

In the waiting period, where we are seeking His face for answers, remember how God longs to be praised.

He wants us, in our pain, frustration and angst, to praise Him anyways, even when it seems impossible.

On those days when you are consumed with longing,  simply give thanks.  You may not be thanking Him for your season of waiting or for your circumstances, but you can thank Him for being God.

Thank Him for loving you so He would endure a loss Himself, as He sent His only Son, Jesus, to take your place on the cross.

Thank Him that the waiting isn’t forever, and He will provide answers and direction, even if it’s not our ideal path. 

The waiting period isn’t always easy or short, but God is there. Take His hand, and let Him lead you in faith, and trust Him through this great unknown we call life. While you wait, draw near to His perfect peace and praise Him for His unending love.

Has there been a time when you have been waiting for God to answer?   Did you rest in His peace or were you consumed with anxiety?  I would love to hear your story of following God through the waiting!

19 Comments

  1. I have been waiting for a few years and everything you said here is spot on! Isn’t it great that He understands our frustration and impatience?

    1. Yes! I am thankful we can pour out our true feelings to Him and that He loves us anyway! Thank you for sharing!

  2. Sarah Ann, I was terrible at waiting on God. Like a spoiled child I pouted and ranted. It wasn’t pretty. His faithfulness in my waiting has taught be patience. So, today as I wait I trust that He is always working for my good and His glory. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post at Counting My Blessings.

    1. Deb,

      I wish I could say I was better at it than what I am, although God has worked miracles on my heart and I am much better than I used to be. It’s always a blessing to link with you! Thanks for having me!

  3. I’m so thankful He has been faithful to me during the periods of waiting in my life. Thank you for sharing your heart!

    1. Thank you for stopping by, Elizabeth! It’s so comforting to know that God is there in the our greatest fear and in the waiting room of life.

  4. I believe that prayer changes us more than it changes things. Being in an attitude of constant dependency on God changes or perspective on life itself.

    1. It does change us! I love though, that God asks us to lay our requests before Him and He is faithful to listen.

  5. I love this blog! It’s exactly where I am at in life, and it is very hard to wait year after year…knowing that Our Father could change our situation in a blink of an eye, but instead He sits silently (so we think)! But God builds character in us and sometimes he withholds our blessings to reveal to us our own inner strength! I love the Lord and I too become frustrated in the waiting room, but “can’t nobody do it like Jesus”! He is an awesome God worthy to be praised!

    1. I am so glad it blessed you! I’ll be praying for you on your journey!

  6. This is such a great post Sarah Ann. Waiting seasons in life are so hard and certainly is the time when our faith in God is tested. To be patient and to trust him that he has good things in store for us, even when the answer might be ‘no’. To keep praising Him. What a huge challenge for all of us. This is my story for waiting for children.http://mylifeinstep.com/my-fertility-journey-with-poly-cystic-ovaries-pco/

  7. Hello Sara-I have a bussiness VERY similar to Yours.Maybe someday We can speak and I have been wanting to do a telesummit, I wonder if You would be interested

    1. Sarah Ann says:

      Denise,

      I would love to chat with you about collaborating! I’m so sorry to have stepped away for a few weeks, but I’m back now! Send me an email and let’s chat!

  8. I was having trouble with the typing coming through so I rebuked Satan and now it’s working.YEAH LORD! That’s why My first message was so short and abrupt.My mentoring bussiness is called Imagine Joy.This has been a dream come true .I’m just now launching My bussiness and I’m wanting to get to know others that are very near to what I am doing.I want to help other Woman find their lost joy through inspirational art journaling and other mediums of art.Bible journaling ect.Hope You jump on over and visit Me Blessings Your Way-Denise

  9. Shannon Linde says:

    Wow. Spoken straight into my heart. I needed this desperately.

    1. Sarah Ann says:

      Shannon,

      I’m honored that this encouraged you. Blessings to you on your journey!

  10. It seems as if God has always been “silent” in my life. I’ve waited so long to hear him or to have him lead me where he wants me to go. The silence is deafing.

    1. Sarah Ann says:

      Cindy,
      I have absolutely been where you are. I’m praying that you keep seeking Him and trusting even when you can’t feel it! 🙂 I promise, He’s listening!

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