BUT, You’re Not Waiting… You’re Living

Be Very Thankful If You’re Still Waiting

Because if you’re still waiting, it simply means you’re still alive.

That may sound like an odd statement at first, but stop and think about it for a moment.

Most of us spend our days wishing that the waiting would end. We wait for better health, a new job, an answer to prayer, test results, healing, retirement, financial freedom, a loved one to come home, or simply for tomorrow to arrive.

We often treat waiting as though it were an interruption to life.

But what if waiting isn’t interrupting life?

What if waiting is life?

Waiting Is Living

One morning I woke up, and as I mentally went through the things I needed to do that day, one thought kept surfacing:

“I have to wait…again.”

Like everyone else, I wanted things to happen now. I found myself becoming impatient because another day meant another period of waiting.

Then a simple realization quietly entered my heart.

I have spent much of my life thinking that waiting was something separate from living.

But waiting isn’t separate from life.

Waiting is living.

Life and waiting are inseparable. Just like white on rice, just like blue on a clear sky, the wetness of water and the heat of fire.

Think About It

Before any of us entered this world, there were about nine months of waiting inside our mother’s womb.

Before we were even conceived, our parents were waiting for different seasons in their own lives.

As children, we waited to grow up.

As students, we waited for summer vacation.

As young adults, we waited for graduation, careers, marriage, or children.

As parents, we waited for our children to mature.

As older adults, we wait for retirement, for healing, for grandchildren, and sometimes simply for tomorrow.

From the day we are born until the day God calls us home…

Life is filled with waiting.

Waiting Does Not Mean Doing Nothing

One of the greatest misconceptions about waiting is believing that waiting means inactivity.

It doesn’t.

A farmer waits for his crops.

A mother waits for her baby.

A builder waits for the concrete to cure.

A patient waits for healing.

A student waits for graduation.

A Christian waits upon the Lord.

Yet every one of them is busy living while they wait.

Waiting is not wasted time.

Waiting is productive time.

Waiting is growing time.

Waiting is preparing time.

Even God Works Through Waiting

The Bible is filled with waiting.

Noah waited while building the ark.

Abraham waited many years before Isaac was born.

Joseph waited in prison before becoming ruler of Egypt.

Moses waited forty years in the wilderness before God called him.

David waited years after being anointed before becoming king.

The Israelites waited centuries for the promised Messiah.

Even after Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

God rarely works according to our timetable.

He works according to His perfect timing.

Isaiah reminds us:

“But those who wait on 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.”
— Isaiah 40:31

Notice that God doesn’t merely tolerate waiting.

He blesses it.

God Himself Waits

Sometimes we forget that God also waits.

He waits for people to repent.

He waits for hearts to return to Him.

He waits patiently because His desire is that none should perish.

Peter writes:

“The Lord is not slow concerning His promise… but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
— 2 Peter 3:9

What we often call delay…

God often calls mercy.

Waiting Is God’s Classroom

Looking back over my own life, I honestly cannot remember a season when I wasn’t waiting for something.

Can you?

There was always another goal…

Another prayer…

Another challenge…

Another blessing…

Another season.

The waiting never stopped.

Only the things I waited for changed.

And perhaps that’s exactly how God intended life to be.

Because while we are waiting…

He is working.

He is shaping our character.

He is strengthening our faith.

He is teaching us patience.

He is reminding us that we are not in control…

He is.

As Solomon wisely wrote:

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1

Every season includes its own waiting.

Every Journey Includes Waiting

Think about taking a trip.

You wait for the ride.

You wait during the ride.

You wait to arrive.

You wait to get off.

You wait to begin whatever comes next.

Life never becomes free from waiting.

It simply gives us new things worth waiting for.

Waiting is woven into every journey we take.

The Blessing Hidden in Waiting

Perhaps we’ve been looking at waiting the wrong way all along.

Perhaps waiting isn’t God’s way of delaying our lives.

Perhaps waiting is the life God has given us.

Every moment we spend waiting is another opportunity to trust Him.

Another opportunity to grow.

Another opportunity to become more like Christ.

One day we’ll look back and realize that while we thought we were merely waiting…

we were actually living.

So if today you find yourself waiting…

Waiting for healing…

Waiting for answers…

Waiting for restoration…

Waiting for God’s direction…

Don’t waste the waiting.

Live in it.

Grow in it.

Trust God through it.

Because if you’re still waiting…

You’re still living.

And if you’re still living…

God isn’t finished with you yet.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”
— Psalm 27:14

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Final Thought

Waiting is not the pause button on life—it is life itself. As said, every season of waiting is another opportunity to trust the One who holds tomorrow. So we cannot merely endure the waiting; rather embrace it, for while we are waiting, God is working… and again if you’re still waiting, He’s not finished with you yet.

A Prayer While I Wait

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for reminding me that waiting is not wasted time, but a precious part of the life You have given me. Forgive me for the times I have allowed impatience, worry, or discouragement to steal the joy of today’s journey.

Help me to trust Your perfect timing, even when I cannot see what You are doing. Teach me to grow while I wait, to serve while I wait, to love while I wait, and to keep my eyes fixed on You while I wait.

Strengthen my faith when the answers seem delayed, and remind me that You are always working behind the scenes for my good and for Your glory. May every season of waiting draw me closer to You and shape me more into the likeness of Christ.

Lord, let me never waste the waiting. Instead, help me to live each day with gratitude, hope, courage, and confidence, knowing that if I am still waiting, You are not finished with me yet.

I place my future into Your loving hands and choose to trust You, one day, one step, and one moment at a time.

In the precious name of Jesus, I pray.

Amen.

Gripes N Grinds N GodTalks By Tony Aranas