What do you desire or long for most in life? You could be in search of a new job, wishing for your business to be successful, anticipating a new deal to close, praying for a kid, or waiting to finally get married to the husband of your dreams.
You could also have an illness that you’ve been praying for days or months, or years on end asking for healing. Perhaps you want your kids to be successful in life.
In any case, time is one of the constant elements that keep the universe intact and going. All the best things in life take time to achieve, even if it’s just a few seconds, days, months, or years.
And as the bible teaches us, God’s timing is the best. Patience is a virtue, but one that many people tend to be short of, especially when going through a period of darkness or hopelessness where the wait seems to be too long.
If any of this speaks to you in some way, read on for tips on how to stay patient while waiting on God’s Timing.
Why Patience is Difficult
One of the most difficult things to do in life is to wait patiently on God. For starters, patience is hard, even if you have clues and evidence that what you’re looking for or waiting for will eventually happen.
While you might feel hopeless about finding love after divorce, many people will tell you that time is a wound healer. But even waiting in the queue for a burger at the restaurant, service at the bank, or in the voter’s line for your turn to vote can feel like it’s taking an eternity.
This is because patience tends to run counter to what you want. Sometimes the pressures, anxieties, and stresses of life could make your patience run out sooner than you think. Unless you’re an incredibly strong believer, it gets even harder to patiently wait on God to answer a specific prayer or fulfill your wishes.
Why Patience Is Important
It’s natural for humans to want what we want, and we want it now! But waiting is a part of God’s plan. In the waiting, we learn to trust God and to depend on Him. We learn to be patient because God is patient, and His timing is perfect.
Whether you’re looking for a spouse, seeking a job, need to pay your bills, or facing other kinds of anxieties in life, losing your patience could be counterproductive and could alter the course of events or results.
Let’s take an example where you’re desperately in search of a job and you finally come across a vacancy with a company you’ve always wished to work for. In this case, canvassing your way into an interview may disqualify you as a candidate, the same way bribing an HR officer could.
While there’s nothing wrong with following up with the hiring agency after making an application, doing it too soon or making it frequent could come out as harassing, probably even hurting your chances of being shortlisted.
The lack of patience can:
- Prolong your wait
- Deny you opportunities
- Cause more stress
- Make you give up on your goals and dreams
When you learn to be patient, you also get better at managing your expectations, thus increasing your chances of living a happy life without what you desire.
Tips for Waiting Patiently on God’s Timing
The old adage that “patience pays” has probably been used for centuries. And while it can be difficult to keep your patience in check while waiting on God’s timing, here are a few things you can do to stay hopeful.
1. Put in Some Effort, Pray, and Trust in God
You could be a man or a woman asking for God to send you the Proverbs 31 kind of virtuous woman or man for a wife or husband. But is your soul mate really going to meet you when you lock yourself up in your house lamenting and avoiding social interactions?
Probably not! Instead, you could consider attending church and community activities, and social events to increase the chances of meeting your God-sent life partner. Better yet, there are many Christian dating sites that you could check out while on your search for the modern proverbs 31-woman or man.
Remember, faith with no action is dead faith, so get yourself out there and seek what you need as you pray and ask God to help you to trust in Him and His timing.
2. Read the Bible and Meditate On Verses about Trust and God’s Faithfulness
There are lots of bible verses you can turn to for hope, peace, comfort, and calm. From Proverbs 14:29 to Ecclesiastes 7:8, Philippians 4:6, and Psalm 40:1, there are also many bible teachings and verses about patience that you can borrow encouragement from. One common thing about them is that they teach you to believe and trust in the Lord.
3. Talk It Out
Nothing is more rewarding than having communion with people you share beliefs with. Talking to a trusted Christian friend or counselor about your feelings and struggles can also strengthen your faith, trust, and patience in God.
4. Focus On Your Current Blessings
When you’re anxious about or highly looking forward to something, it’s easy to overlook what you already have. However, continuously acknowledging and appreciating the positive things in your life that God has already blessed you with can go a long way in rekindling your patience.
It’s easy to feel as if your wishes and prayers are always falling on deaf ears. As Christianity (and other religions) teaches us, God always listens. He answers prayers, and sometimes rejects others, or provides you with something better than what you prayed for. More often than not, all it takes is patience and the belief that his timing is perfect.
