Wisdom in Seasons of Waiting

I'll start this episode by saying that life can be full of many challenges, but there are certain seasons that test our patience and faith more than others. And one of the most frustrating and impatient seasons can be when you are in a season of waiting. You may be waiting for a promotion, a child, or a breakthrough. Whatever it is that you've been trusting God for, the truth is you're still waiting for it.

And waiting is hard. It's messy. And at times, it can feel so lonely. But here's the good news. There's wisdom to be found in these seasons of waiting. And that's what we're going to unpack today on how to navigate seasons of waiting with grace and faith while trusting God's timing. So let's start with the one thing that makes these seasons so hard. Pressure.

It's so easy to feel like we're failing because of the pressures that we see around us. I remember graduating high school at 18 and then graduating college at 24. And then I entered the workforce at 25 and I thought, I'm doing everything right. Like I'm doing everything according to what my parents told me to do. I celebrated every new job offer. I celebrated every promotion until those celebrations started turning into

Questions like, so Jennifer, when are you going to get married? And even after I met Allen, before we even made it to the altar, I remember people were in my ovaries asking, so when you guys get married, when are you going to have kids? Looking back now, the boldness it takes to ask that question, I'm still amazed at. But I got asked that question a lot. And so one of the biggest lessons that I learned in that season is that

Society's timelines are not God's timelines. If you let the world, or your coworkers, your parents, social media, the Joneses, if you let society's timelines define you, you will feel like you are failing or behind every single time. To unpack this further, I'm going to pull lessons from Sarah in the Bible and how her story relates to modern day pressures.

because a woman's worth was often tied to their ability to have children. So even at the age of 65, she still hadn't experienced the fulfillment of that desire yet. So can you imagine the pressure and the shame that she must have felt? Now let's fast forward to today, to modern day, and we're faced with our own societal pressures as women, whether that is be married by 23 or have your first child by 27.

own your first home by 30, maybe have your second child by 32. I mean, the list just goes on. But when we compare ourselves to these expectations, it creates unhealthy anxiety. One of the waiting seasons that Alan and I faced was deciding whether or not to grow our family. And I can't tell you how many times people said, why do you want more kids? Now, yes, this was after we had two kids already.

But I just remember conversations like, aren't you content with the two that you have? But deep down, I knew that the desire God placed in my heart was valid. And I found comfort in Romans 12, 12, where it says, rejoice in hope, but be patient in tribulation, which means hardships and trials and suffering, and be constant in prayer. Whew, that prayer part.

I think it's so easy to pray after God has answered a prayer, but it's hard to remain constant in prayer when that prayer has not been answered yet. But we're reminded to stay constant in prayer because society's timelines don't define you. So as you think of your situation, what societal pressures are you feeling in this season? And just take a moment to think about whether those pressures align with God's timing for you.

Because seasons matter and not all seasons are created the same. The timeline that God has for you cannot and will never be measured by what the world has set for you. Now, the next point I want to share is something that a lot of people don't talk about. And that is while you're in a season of waiting, substitutes won't fulfill you. How often have you heard, you should just be content with what you have.

Let's say you're waiting for a new job. People might say, be happy with where you are. Or if you're waiting for a spouse, some might suggest, maybe you're being too picky. Maybe you're waiting for a child. You may have even heard, hey, why not focus on something else like a business or a hobby or fostering? Or maybe you just need to birth something else, like something like a business. I know we hear it a lot. And while there is gratitude to be found in these substitutes,

They don't always fulfill the deep desires that God has placed in your heart. See, Sarah dealt with this exact same thing. Sarah was a wifey to Abraham. And it was taking her a while to conceive. See, for a woman not to be able to produce children on her own, it was believed to be a sign that maybe there was something in that woman's life that was causing God not to bless her. So her waiting stretched on.

And eventually she lost hope and ended up giving Abraham permission to have a child with her servant Hagar. So guess what? Abraham was like, okay. He ended up having a baby by her servant. Now, obviously that was with Sarah's blessing, but you can see even the Bible can be messy. But let's get back to the point of while this seemed like a solution at the time, it actually led to division, heartbreak and conflict.

See, even though she had a quote unquote, surrogate child, she was still unfulfilled because her greatest desire was still unmet. Now, God had something miraculous coming for Sarah, but in the meantime, this substitute child did not fulfill her. So let me ask you, where is Satan tempting you to settle for less than you know what God has for you? Have you ever accepted a substitute for what you were truly waiting on?

Whether that's settling for a relationship, settling to fill a void in your heart, picking up hobbies, unhealthy tasks or habits to mask this season, whatever it is, if you find yourself still not fulfilled, maybe that's because that substitute was never meant to fulfill you. And that leads me to my next point, that we can't and we should not get ahead of God. See, waiting is hard and sometimes in our impatience, we may try to take matters into our own hands, but when we get ahead of God, there are always, always consequences.

Remember Sarah's decision to involve Hagar, her servant? Well, that decision created tension in her marriage and brought shame and anguish into her life. See, this is a powerful reminder that God's timing is always better than our own. So trusting Him even when it's difficult, it's worth it.

So to bring you into a personal season I am currently in, and that is that Alan and I are still navigating a season of waiting to see if we will get the opportunity to grow our family. Yes, there have been times that I have wanted to take matters into my own hands, especially being 40 and feeling like time is not on my side. But I'm reminded that God is sovereign and He is the only one that is in control, not me.

So where in your life are you tempted to take control instead of trusting God's timing? And what would it look like to fully, fully surrender to Him? I want to leave you with some encouragement with this last point that I'm about to share. And that is our faith doesn't have to be perfect for God to bless us. There may be areas of your life that you feel unworthy of God's blessings, but see, God doesn't bless us because of our perfect faith. He often blesses us despite our imperfections.

And this is the beauty in how Sarah's story ends. Actually, Sarah and Abraham, because they both made a lot of mistakes. And yet, they are celebrated in Hebrews 11 in the Hall of Fame, really the Hall of Faith. I definitely encourage you to read Hebrews 11 when you get a chance. See, shame from our past, whether it's a failed marriage, a mistake that we regret, or a wrong turn in life.

This does not disqualify us from God's blessings. His goodness is not about what we do. It's about who He is. The reason God is not answering that prayer yet is not because your faith is weak. He is still holy and good. And sometimes He's calling us to draw closer to Him to refine our faith for eternal purposes. His Word says that He promises all things that work together for the good of those who have more faith? Nope, that's not what it says. Romans 8.28 says that all things work together for those who love Him. See, having faith, yes, it's vital for your walk with Christ, but your faith doesn't have to be perfect for Him to bless you. So as we close, remember that waiting isn't just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but it's about what you will become as you wait. See, God is not punishing you. If he hasn't given you what you're waiting for, are you content with his plan, not yours? The Lord, is so good, but he's only good because of who he is, not because of what he does. And I promise you, I promise you, sis, he hasn't forgotten about you. God sees you, he hears you.

He is working behind the scenes in ways that you can't even imagine. He has not forsaken you and he loves you. He loves you even if it feels like he is far from you. He's not.

Father, thank you for meeting us in our waiting seasons. Help us to trust your timing and find contentment in your plans. We surrender our desires to you knowing that you and only you, not man, not a job, not the pressures or the timelines of the world, but you and only you are good and faithful. And for that, we remain grateful, but we also remain hopeful that your will and your will be done, not ours. If this episode encouraged and blessed you, please share it with a friend who might need to hear this message. And don't forget to subscribe so that you can get notified when the next episode releases, which is every other week. Go win this week and go make God proud. Bye for now.