Waiting Patiently
- Bethany Schmidt
- Aug 18, 2017
- 4 min read
Hi everyone! Today we have one of our close friends, Bethany Schmidt, sharing some wisdom on having patience. Bethany staffed at our TeenPact Texas II class. She is such an amazing person! We hope you enjoy this guest post.
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.”
Psalm 37:3-4
Waiting is not an easy thing to do. It’s often hard, painful, and long. But it’s a part of life. In fact, the majority of our lives are spent waiting. We wait for friends to call us back, we wait for dinner to be made, we wait for our parents to pick us up; everyday, we experience some form of waiting. More than any of those things, though, we wait for God’s guidance and direction in our lives. We wait for Him to give us an answer, to show us the next step. This is where it can get tough, and this is usually where we start to worry. The questions rise: how long will I have to wait for God’s answer? How will I know if He says yes or no? What if His answer is not the one I want?
I have asked myself these very questions many times, and every single time, God has shown Himself faithful to His promises. Every single time I start to doubt, worry, or question His will, He reminds me that in His sovereignty, His timing is perfect. And every single time, I regret not trusting Him completely. So how can we wait in a way that glorifies God? How can we find joy in the midst of waiting on His timing?
In Psalm 37:3-4 we are given five key principles as to how we as Christ-followers are to wait on the Lord.
TRUST IN THE LORD.
Trusting can be a very scary thing, but it’s choosing to say “I believe.” It’s a choice, and God commands us to choose Him. Who will we put our trust in? The world and the things that are passing away? Or the God of the universe, who created life from dust and raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead? Is He not more trustworthy than anything else? Trusting is choosing to believe that God is God and we are not. We do not know better than He does and we are not in control. He is sovereign over time, over people, and over circumstances. God’s plan for our lives is much better than anything we could ever come up with, and nothing is going to change that plan. Though we may not see it now, we know that He has a purpose for all things and works everything together for our good.
DO GOOD.
In the midst of waiting, do good! Serve the people around you, in your church, in your school, in your home. There are many ways we can serve: ask a young mom in your church if you can babysit for her, offer to do yard work for an elderly couple, bake cookies for the new family in town, be friendly to the lonely girl at school, etc. If we ask God to give us the eyes to see, He will show us many ways in which we can serve Him.
DWELL IN THE LAND AND BEFRIEND FAITHFULNESS.
To dwell means to live in, to settle in, or to stay. Wherever it is that God has asked you to wait-- whether it is a physical place He has called you to live in, or a circumstance you are in the midst of-- wherever it is, dwell there. By that I mean, choose to accept where God has placed you and give thanks for it. Remember, He is sovereign over all things, and does everything for a purpose. Choosing to dwell, trust, and give thanks in circumstances is showing faithfulness to God. Those are things He commands us to do, and when we obey Him we are being faithful to Him.
DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD.
Rejoice that He has given you life and is your Savior! Yes, you may be waiting and may not have what you’d like or be where you want, but there is so much to be thankful for in spite of that. Focus on Jesus and what He has done for you. Study His attributes, His character, His love for you. Delight yourself in getting to know your Savior more and focusing on what He has done for you, rather than on your circumstances.
COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD.
Last but not least, after choosing to trust in the Lord, doing good while we wait, dwelling and remaining faithful where God has placed us, and delighting ourselves in Him-- after all these, we are told to commit our way to the Lord. This is surrendering all that we are waiting for, over to the Lord. It’s picking them up and placing them in His hands: circumstances, relationships, opportunities, healing, restoration-- anything. These things belong to Jesus, and His will is going to be done with them. And now, once again, we have to choose to trust Him with those things.
So friends, I pray that this was an encouragement to you. Keep resting in Jesus, and God bless you as you wait on the Lord!
Bethany Schmidt
My name is Bethany Schmidt. I am nineteen years old and have lived in Laramie, Wyoming my whole life. Though there a few things I would change about my state, I'm proud to call Wyoming home. I have eight siblings and two dogs. I am the middle child, and I absolutely love being part of big family. Some of my favorite things to do include: journaling, playing piano, hand lettering, snowboarding, eating peanut butter, and spending time with my best friends. Not only, that but I love spending time with my Savior, Jesus. I am in need of His grace and mercy every single day, but I praise Him for blessing me with the gift of life.
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