How to Trust God in a Season of Waiting

[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.]

Note: This post is part of the Two Weeks of Waiting Devotional. To return to the table of contents for the devotional, click here. To read this as a downloadable ebook, subscribe below.

Have you ever had someone break a promise to you? It can be one thing to forgive them (which is hard enough), but it’s another thing to trust them again.

Although I won’t get into the details, the dishonesty I experienced from a boss once led me to quit my job. I wouldn’t want to work for him again, because I don’t feel like he can be trusted. If he lied to me before — and still isn’t remorseful at all — who’s to say he wouldn’t do it again?

Unfortunately, we can let ourselves dwell too much on past broken promises…which leads to issues in our current relationships.

I think God knows this, too. So on the flip side, thinking of the past can be our greatest strength when it comes to learning to trust God — especially in a difficult season of waiting.

Over and over in the Old Testament, God reminds His people that He has kept His promises by making the Israelites His chosen people (see Exodus 2:24 and 6:5; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 7 and 26:19, for a few examples). The idea of this covenant that God was keeping is repeated over and over again. And then an entire chapter is dedicated to urging the Israelites to remember the Lord and all that He had done for them (Deuteronomy 8).

Why does God do this? He knows that we are people who remember the past. We like stories of people who keep their promises. And God has kept every single one. We can trust God because of the amazing things He has done; by remembering every single promise He has already fulfilled. He has promised to work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). No matter what happens, no matter how long we are waiting, God has promised that He is in control, working things out for our good. This is a promise that we can trust.

Further study + reflection

In order to remember how God fulfills His promises, we have to study the Bible, as it is there that we will find declarations of His promises. Read Genesis 9:8-17 and Joshua 4:1-7. In both of these cases, God establishes reminders for people of the things He has done, so that future generations will remember how He kept His promises. What reminders can you make for yourself so that you always remember God’s promises? If you don’t already have one, begin a routine of studying the Bible daily to help you remember His promises and trust God, even during a difficult season of waiting.

Note: This post is part of the Two Weeks of Waiting Devotional. To return to the table of contents for the devotional, click here. To read this as a downloadable ebook, subscribe below.