Waiting is Winning

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:… – Psalm 37:7

In November 2020, I spent most of a Monday at the emergency room with my fourteen-year-old daughter. She has a condition called vasovagal syncope. Certain triggers cause her blood pressure to plummet, resulting in her nearly fainting or passing out completely. This time she was out cold before she hit the floor and hit it quite forcefully with her head. Doctors wanted to run many tests to be sure this was just a syncope episode and not an issue with her heart or brain. They also wanted to rule out any lingering problems beyond a moderate concussion. As is the case with most trips to the ER, our trip on that Monday consisted of much waiting.

Like all good mothers, I reminded my daughter when she complained over and over about wanting to go home that this waiting was necessary. We needed to wait for test results to be sure she was well enough to go home. Although the waiting was monotonous and boring, it was profoundly necessary for her health.

As I write this, we are waiting for the results of a rather tumultuous election night in the United States. I tried to stay up to watch the results, but by 1 a.m., I could no longer stay awake. I woke up in the morning to find nothing had changed much. It was a good choice to go to sleep and get some much-needed rest while waiting.

The years I was in Bible college seemed a long period of waiting—waiting to see which direction God would lead my life, waiting to find out who He would choose to be my spouse, and working to learn all I could by the time I graduated. In those three and a half years, I learned so much and gained essential knowledge, skills, and wisdom that would end up being vital in the years following. I learned to walk with God and fully trust in Him when the days were filled with struggles and homesickness. I am so glad that I spent that time learning and growing while I was waiting.

In 2016, our church’s Bible college closed. I had been teaching and was also the dean of women. I loved my job of helping young ladies who were preparing to serve God with their lives. I spent several months feeling broken and lost. Although I had other employment, it was merely a job to earn income. I spent the hours at work praying and asking God to give me a way to serve Him, to put me in a place to make a difference, and not to forget me. Those months of waiting for God’s direction were tough.

One day at work, I got a text from my pastor that said, “I think you need to write.” Writing was a childhood dream to which I was still clinging at 37 years of age. Only a small handful of people had ever encouraged me to write at that point. Immediately, I knew God was pushing open a door I had not previously entered and saying, “See? I haven’t forgotten you!” In the four years since, I have had so many opportunities to write for others, to write my own work, and now to encourage others to write. Those months of waiting and praying for God’s will helped me to refocus from working with young women to following a completely new path God had blazed for me: writing. I may never have taken the new journey so wholeheartedly without that difficult time of waiting.

I have learned that life is peppered with times—hours, days, months, and sometimes years—of waiting on God while He is working in the background to lay out the path for us. Moses waited 40 years in a desert with no recognition and no encouragement to serve God. In fact, he was 80 years old when God told him to go get the Hebrew children out of Egypt. He was ready and willing when God came for him. He did not let 40 years of waiting to serve God, wondering if God remembered him, and possibly dealing with discouragement and defeat change his answer when God said, “Go!”

Many times, we will find ourselves on the bench in the middle of life’s game. We may not be sure why we are there instead of on the field helping our teammates. We might even feel we are being treated unfairly or are being overlooked when in fact we are eager and willing. There will be times when opportunities seem absent. Hold on, my friend! Our Coach knows exactly what He is doing. He knows exactly how we will win. We must trust Him to put us in the game when and where He needs us most.

Waiting is part of winning. Waiting is a time for learning and for leaning on God. Waiting is a time to rest and to refocus on His goals instead of looking at ours. While waiting, our trust in the Lord can grow stronger and our desire to serve Him selflessly can flourish. Waiting is part of God’s plan. Therefore, in waiting we can find peace for today and hope for the future!

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. – Psalm 130:5

by Tracie S. Burns