How to Wait Patiently on God

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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.

“Just be patient!” How many times have you heard that since you’ve been waiting? Maybe you’re a little sick of the word patience.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like you have a choice anyway– when you’re waiting to find out if you’re pregnant, for example, you can’t speed it up. You have no choice but to wait.

But learning to wait patiently on God is different than just waiting simply because you have no choice.

I like how the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia puts it: “‘Patience’ implies suffering, enduring or waiting, as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity.” Patience is more than waiting because we don’t have a choice. It involves determination of the will. The Encyclopedia goes on to say that the Biblical definition of patience implies that we need to “endure uncomplainingly the various forms of sufferings, wrongs and evils that we meet with, and to bear patiently injustices which we cannot remedy and provocations we cannot remove.”

In my own words, waiting patiently involves a determination of the will to endure uncomplainingly the suffering and injustice that we have no control over.

So what does that look like for those of us who are waiting?

I like to picture the people I see waiting in line at the grocery store as an example. Everyone is waiting out of necessity.

Some though, have already changed lanes 3 different times (doesn’t it seem like your lane is always the slowest lane?). They’re tapping their feet, checking the time on their phone, clearing their throat loudly when the cashier starts to make small talk with the customer in front of them. (Why is this bozo buying 5 gallons of ice cream and 10 frozen pizzas, anyway?)

Other customers are waiting calmly. They are the ones making small talk with the people around them, smiling at people ahead of them. They’re sticking with their lane. They are the ones who have realized that waiting patiently or impatiently has no impact on the length of the wait; only on how enjoyable the waiting time is.

How are you waiting? Are you switching lanes every minute, focusing on all of the people around you who seem to be moving faster? Or are you waiting calmly, smiling at the people around you?

Further study + reflection

Read the full description of patience from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia here or another Bible encyclopedia of your choosing. Create your own definition of what you believe Biblical patience means.
Then, make a point to wait patiently even in small things — in the line at the grocery store, in traffic, and when you’re on hold on the phone. Recognize that learning to wait patiently on God involves more than just waiting out of necessity.

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.