Hi. It’s Mike.

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” Psalm 62:5

A lot of my life has been spent waiting.

Waiting in lines, waiting for phone calls, and waiting for appointments. It seems like no matter where I go or what I do, there’s always some kind of waiting involved.

On average, Americans wait 10 minutes in a queue at the post office, 22 minutes waiting for a meal, and 12 minutes for a bus. Phoning up the doctor’s office can knock ten minutes off your life as you can expect to be on hold for 600 seconds.

A spokesman for National Express said: “The results of waiting provide an interesting look at how often we are required to wait not just across many different areas of life, but also different seasons of life.”

As I see it, a good portion of my lifetime has been spent waiting.

• Waiting for a best friend to call, or my favorite TV show to begin.
• Waiting for the right person to come into my life.
• Waiting for that first date; or that first kiss.
• Waiting for the job offer; or that next paycheck.
• Waiting for a baby to be born.
• Waiting for a loved one to get well; or a broken relationship to heal.
• Waiting for the doctor’s prognosis; or the other shoe to drop.

Like it or not, waiting is a big part of this life. Waiting is part of the human condition.

Waiting is also a reality in the life of faith.

God continually calls his people to wait. So, with that given awareness, one thought remains:

WHO have I been waiting with?

A quick review of my last sixty-five years, sadly reveals that I’ve spent a fair amount of my time sitting and waiting with the wrong companions:

• Despair.
• Depression.
• Worry.
• Anxiety.
• Shame.
• Guilt.

Oh, and let’s not forget…hopelessness.

My guess is that you know these companions.  Yes?

You have a choice. 

Scripture reminds us that there’s a different choice we can make.  Psalm 62:5 suggests that life goes best when we wait with the One who is our hope.

In our waiting, we can move away from our old companions who weighed us down. We can choose to sit and wait on another bench where faith, trust, and obedience are our companions.

I’m guessing that the conversations we have on that bench will be much more delightful. Much more hopeful.

Waiting on God with hope.

I want to remind you today that waiting on God involves actively putting your hope in Him and His promises.  In the book of Psalms, we read, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope” (Psalm 130:5).

When we wait for God’s answer, we need to remember that His timing is not our own. We may want an immediate response, but God may have a different plan or a different timeline for our situation.

As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).

Sometimes, God may be using the waiting period to refine our character or to draw us closer to Him. It’s important to use this time to grow in our relationship with Him and to trust that He has our best interests at heart.

So if you’re waiting for God today, choose to sit and wait with faith, trust, and obedience.  Hold onto hope and trust in Him.

Prayer: 

Father God, it’s obvious that waiting is just part of this thing called life. So with Your help and encouragement today, I choose to wait on You…on hope…with trust, with faith, and with obedience. Holy Spirit, pull up a chair and wait with me, will You? For Your name’s sake. Amen.

As always, thank you for being part of our First Orlando family. 

God bless.

Mike Woods
Online Campus Coordinator

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