3 Things God Gifts Us In Our Waiting Seasons

Blessings Delayed?

I’m sure we have all wanted to speed up time at some point in our lives. During those long, waiting seasons, it can feel like God isn’t getting around to our prayer requests, and honestly, it can leave us a little frustrated. Have you ever started to lose faith during those seasons of “delayed” blessings?

It’s human of us to want things on our own timing. We can usually justify why we need some of our prayers answered quickly. It can be a challenge to fully trust in God when certain situations have a deadline (like rent or a work project). Other situations occur in life that also make us question if we’re being rejected by God in those moments. We may start to believe what we’ve been praying for isn’t worth the wait, or that we aren’t worthy of the blessing. On top of that, unexpected events happen in ways that don’t make logical sense to our minds! It can feel like a cruel joke from God when your car breaks down on the way to work, when you’re facing old temptations after dedicating your life to Christ, or when God reroutes you to another location.

We may look up to the heavens and start to wonder why it’s all happening, especially if we’ve been praying to receive direction on how to move next and whether to keep going on a certain path.

In the past, I used to believe that if I didn’t receive a blessing on my timing, it was because I had done something wrong and I needed to work harder. I’m no stranger to feeling guilty about potentially angering God. After all, He is such a good God, and we’re born with the free choice to sin. However, after being in several waiting seasons in my life, I’ve been gifted a better perception of God’s strategies, His timing, and how much He loves us.

1. The Lesson of Patience

Don’t be hasty and think you’ve mastered this lesson quite yet! We all groan at having to learn this lesson over and over again. To me, it feels like a never-ending one, but perhaps that’s where the durability of our faith is strengthened.

We all know there are things we can’t have, there are things we can’t have right now, and there are things we can’t have under the current circumstances we are in.

If you’re confused on which prayers and blessings fall into what category, try to let go of your expectations and get into your Bible. God can speak to us through the scriptures simply by praying for clarity and turning to whatever book or chapter you are called to reference that day. I encourage you to try this method and journal your thoughts and emotions. I was given Psalm 27 to read the other day. Reading it drastically improved my ability to trust in God and continue to wait on Him.

Sometimes there is a good reason for delay and we can’t see it until later. Have you ever been late to an event, but realized that by leaving your house 10 minutes later than planned, you avoided a car accident that happened when you were supposed to be on that road? God was protecting you by waking you up later than usual that day. You may have been angry, yet you’re alive! Maybe you even happen to arrive at the event at the same time as your future spouse.

The same concept can apply to wanting a particular position at work. You desire to be in a higher position, but someone else gets chosen over you for the job. You may be disappointed and feel slighted. However, months later you find out that person quit due to the overwhelming workload and low pay. You avoided having to deal with that mess because God knew what was best for you. A few months later, you might happen to land the best job opportunity! Nobody knows the mind of God and what’s going to happen better than our Creator.

You have to admit, God is clever in even the little things. He knows what’s best for us overall. Maybe you’re struggling with getting approved for a car loan, or with overcoming various health challenges and unruly thoughts. Our struggles are difficult and come with valid emotions. Know that God definitely understands our plights!

Matthew 6:8 states, “…for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

He doesn’t enjoy seeing us suffer, yet he knows that most of us still need to develop a solid trust in Him, fine tune our attitudes, and (re-)learn patience. Often times, you do receive more than you expected in the end for your patience!

Isn’t it better to receive an even greater blessing than what you originally prayed for?

Let God work out the details, handle the background paperwork, and in the meantime, learn to cast your anxiety away.

2. A Humbled Heart

God makes sure our hearts will stay humble before He leaves a million blessings at our doorstep. A spoiled child, one who is accustomed to getting everything they want, when they want, may become selfish, greedy, and learn to manipulate others to get what they desire. He doesn’t want us to become like entitled children who eventually grow up to be unpleasant adults. We must know our relationship with God isn’t supposed to be solely transactional.

God is our Father and He will provide what we need. It may not be exactly what we pictured receiving, yet He still wants to bless us with something during our waiting seasons. Maybe He considers this to be an equal exchange – one humbled heart for many blessings.

Sometimes we aren’t mentally ready to receive the answer to our prayers and act upon it. Sometimes we aren’t heart space ready either.

Here’s an example from my own life. Before coming to Christ, I wanted my new age businesses to take off and for my books to be published quickly. I did everything (at first) to get these side hustles started and growing. I researched, studied, participated in writing challenges, attended live webinars, and had practice clients. Nothing seemed to keep me motivated. All growth was stagnant for months.

It wasn’t until I came to Christ, renounced those ideas, and started drafting a new book, that I realized how ungrateful I had been about my “self-employed” status. I had slacked off many days and had grown lazy with my gratitude journal. I was so focused on money and being able to afford a better lifestyle that I had forgotten about who had given me my natural gifts and career to begin with – God!

When I humbled myself and started living a Christian lifestyle, everything seemed to fall into place. I became a renewed person with a workable, more open heart space instead of a stubborn, worldly one. I also realized how frazzled I would’ve been had things gone my way! It’s important for us to remember that God is working on our behalf. His plan is better than ours, even if we don’t see a difference in our bank account yet and a change in blessing delivery date.

Gratitude, a humble heart, and strong faith keeps us motivated to continue to prepare for the blessings God has for us. It keeps our prayer life in check, too. The truth is, you don’t get what you want only by strong desire, even if you think you’re the perfect Christian! You wouldn’t appreciate it if your friend acted blatantly ungrateful for the gift you chose for them. The same goes for God! He wouldn’t give you a present unless He knew you’d appreciate it with all your heart.

You wouldn’t want to receive a blessing and lose it because God renders you unprepared and under motivated to keep it. He doesn’t want your heart to change under any circumstance. We are not meant to be boastful people and spoiled until we’re rotten. Developing a relationship with God shouldn’t be based on whether you receive material blessings. He wants us to honor Him and love Him above all else.

Ask yourself, what would you do if you received all your blessings tomorrow? How many of those blessings would cause you to become a better person than who you are today without them?

3. Time With The Lord

It’s a trial on our end to wait patiently for what God has promised us and for what we have prayed ceaselessly for. There are moments I have cried out to God for answers and clarity. There are moments when I wanted to give up on the vision God had given me for my future. The Bible mentions that we will face adversity no matter where we are in life. We have to be steadfast. It’s a battle to keep our spiritual eyes sharp and our hearts holy.

Even with the proper amount of trust in God, a humble heart, and a good prayer life, enduring weeks without answers, without enough cash, and with more doubt creeping in, can feel like mental torture! One month we may feel absolutely motivated and upbeat. During the next month we may feel like we’re being dragged along for the sake of being a faithful servant.

In actuality, during some of our waiting seasons, we’re being prepared for the adversity that comes along with receiving our blessings and in following God’s plan. Most of us go through spiritual warfare, especially, those with a more public purpose and intensive calling. As mentioned before, God doesn’t want us to receive our blessings and lose it due to a lack of preparation.

Your waiting season may include the time you’ll need to prepare for the enemy’s future schemes. Many people have waited years for their prayers to be answered and blessings to be delivered. Once they get a clearer sense of why things unfolded the way that it did, they usually experience an immense amount of gratitude for the delay. Whether God is teaching you more emotional maturity or financial literacy, be grateful that He rather see you prepared than fall into the enemy’s snares during your harvest season.

In Matthew 14:22 we read the words of Jesus to Peter, “You of little faith…why did you doubt?”

God doesn’t want us to doubt Him. What does God want us to do during those slow moving months and times of perceived delay? Spend time with Him and trust Him!

Time with the Lord to hear his voice and gather your mental state is considered a blessing in itself. Think about how chaotic the world currently is and how many tasks need to be accomplished every week. It may be the case for you that there isn’t much time leftover to be truly present with God. If you’re raising small children, chances are you barely have any alone time at all! A full schedule, no matter the rewards we reap from it, can hinder us from further getting to know God, from learning new skills, and from taking care of our physical and mental health. It can lead to frustration when we aren’t seeing progress and as a result can cause us to stumble along our path. Without some quiet time to calm our nervous system and refresh our spirit the devil can sneakily make his way in.

Temptation to slack off, to doubt God’s power, and turn away from righteous living are real tactics used by the devil. How can we be armored up and ready to defend our blessings if we aren’t equipped with the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith? How can we battle in the spiritual realm if we are too tired to pray before bed and too exhausted to read a Bible story to our children, so they can also acquire wisdom? Do you expect the devil will leave you alone once he sees he has lost once again?

Much like us, he can be stubborn and highly invested in his own plans! Unlike some of us, he takes time to recharge and regroup before executing new ideas. The enemy may have staff 24/7 and try to stop us from trusting in God, yet it’s important to remember, no being is more powerful than our Father who oversees heaven and earth.

As Romans 8:31 says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

We shouldn’t complain about delay or get stuck in fear when we are readying to battle alongside God and His angels! Time in the Word, with the Lord, and praying in the spirit is crucial to leveling up our life and receiving our promises from God. He is a God that doesn’t lie. Just because you can’t see the seed growing beneath the soil, doesn’t mean the seed isn’t sprouting and growing strong roots. Some things simply take more time to fully develop and bloom.

Don’t Be Discouraged

In 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, it states, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…”

Don’t be discouraged when things don’t go as planned, when you don’t get that job, or when you have to wait for what seems like an eternity for your prayers to be answered. God hears you. He’s lending you the courage in this moment to keep pursuing what it is you’ve been called and led to do. We have to keep in mind that we do not store treasures only on earth. The reward for our patience and our faith will be beyond our imagination!

In your waiting, remember that God is listening to you, readying you, and will release your blessings to you in more than perfect timing. It’ll probably be when you least expect it! Would you want to ruin your surprise for a moment of human satisfaction? We aren’t supposed to know everything. Even the smallest details matter to God.

Do not lose heart today and keep your faith strong. In time it’ll be revealed to you as to why you’ve been in such a long, waiting season. I pray you’ll continue to have the strength to wait on the Lord.

Copyright 2022 Angie Vargas