Disappointments, betrayals, reconciliation, and promotion marked the past year of my life.
Like Charles Dickens famously said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Despite a rocky beginning, though, it ended with a bang.
Here are five of the man lessons I learned—or lessons that I learned at a deeper level—this past year about waiting.
Waiting on the Next Door
It’s true that God opens doors no man can shut and shuts doors no man can open (see Rev. 3:7-8). It’s also true that when one door closes, another opens.
But I learned this: The next door God has doesn’t always open immediately. Sometimes God shuts a door and it brings us great grief. We can’t walk through the next door carrying the grief. So there is often a healing period between doors.
Waiting on Exposure
God will expose what needs to be exposed. He will expose those who told lies about you. He will expose those moving with wrong agendas. He will expose the gossipers and those who stole from you.
But He doesn’t always do it immediately. He’s giving them a chance to repent—and He usually gives them much longer than we would give them. He is merciful.
Remember, God gave Jezebel and Ahab twenty years to repent. It’s not likely God will wait twenty years to expose the lies people told about you. But we do have to wait.
Rest assured. When God exposes it, it will be worth the wait. Vindication is sweet.
Waiting on Your Tribe
It takes time to find the right tribe. Many times, we think we’ve found our tribe—the group of people God has called us to run with—but we’re wrong.
We may run with a group for a while and may enjoy the experience when it was never God’s perfect will for us. We may hop from tribe to tribe looking for the right fit and it may take a while.
When you find the right tribe, everything starts to click.
Waiting on the Curse to Become a Blessing
What appears to be a disaster can be a blessing in disguise. Sometimes God immediately reverses the curse—or turns the curse into a blessing (Deut. 23:5).
But sometimes you can’t see the blessing because you are too focused on the curse. In other words, you can’t see what God is up too because you are too busy working your way through the chaos and the problems.
God will work it all out together for your good. Wait on Him.
Waiting on God’s Promotion
God brings one down and raises others up (Psalm 75:7). It can be wearisome seeing people self-promote their way into blessings. But we must be content to wait on God.
Trials and tribulations often precede promotion.
Wilderness seasons often precede your kairos time.
Don’t give up on God’s promised promotion in your life. When you enter into a season of promotion, it becomes evident to you and everyone around you.
Wait on the Lord
Those are a few of the lessons I learned—or learned through practical experience—in the past year. You’ll notice most of them had to do with waiting.
I’ve been waiting and wading through three years of difficult times and seasons. I suppose, above all, I’ve learned to wait.
Maybe you can relate.
- Remember, the Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks Him (see Lam. 3:25).
- Remember, they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (see Is. 40:31).
- Remember, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (see Psalm 27:14).
