“But 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.” – Isaiah 40:31
We live in an age of impatience. Next-day delivery, on-demand streaming, instant downloads, and drive-through everything have conditioned us to expect immediate fulfillment. When was the last time you felt genuinely comfortable waiting for something important? If you’re like most people, waiting feels less like a valuable experience and more like an annoying obstacle to overcome.
Yet Scripture consistently presents waiting not as a punishment or a problem but as a spiritual discipline—a practice that forms our character and deepens our relationship with God. As we approach the Advent season, which is fundamentally about waiting for Christ’s coming, we have an opportunity to rediscover this lost discipline.
The Biblical Pattern of Waiting
Throughout Scripture, we see that God often makes His people wait:
- Abraham and Sarah waited decades for their promised son
- The Israelites waited 400 years for deliverance from Egypt
- David waited years between his anointing and his coronation
- The exiles waited 70 years for return from Babylon
- The faithful waited centuries for the promised Messiah
This pattern suggests something important: waiting isn’t an accident or divine oversight. It’s an intentional part of God’s formative work in our lives.
Our key verse from Isaiah was written to people in exile—people who had been waiting for deliverance and restoration. The prophet doesn’t minimize their waiting but reframes it: “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.” Waiting, properly understood, doesn’t drain us but renews us.
What Makes Waiting So Difficult?
Before exploring the spiritual benefits of waiting, it’s worth asking why we find it so challenging. Several factors contribute to our struggle:
1. We equate waiting with wasting
In our productivity-obsessed culture, waiting feels like wasted time. If we’re not actively doing something, we feel we’re falling behind. This mindset makes it difficult to see waiting as valuable in itself.
2. We fear missing out
Waiting often triggers our fear of missing opportunities or experiences. While others move forward, we feel stuck, leading to comparison and discontent.
3. We crave control
Waiting reminds us that we’re not in control. We can’t make time move faster or force outcomes to arrive on our schedule. This loss of control can be deeply uncomfortable.
4. We’ve lost the art of presence
Our digital devices have trained us to fill every moment of potential boredom or stillness with stimulation. We’ve forgotten how to simply be present where we are, making waiting feel intolerable.
The Transformative Power of Waiting
Despite our resistance, waiting carries profound spiritual benefits. When embraced as a discipline rather than merely endured as a hardship, waiting can transform us in several ways:
1. Waiting develops trust
When we can’t control outcomes or timelines, we’re faced with a choice: anxiety or trust. Waiting invites us to release our grip on circumstances and place our confidence in God’s character and promises.
The psalmist captures this: “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). Notice how waiting and hope are connected—not the shallow optimism that things will work out as we wish, but the deeper confidence that God remains faithful even when the path forward isn’t clear.
2. Waiting refines our desires
Immediate gratification often keeps us trapped in superficial wants. Waiting gives us time to examine what we truly desire at the deepest level.
C.S. Lewis observed, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” Waiting can help us distinguish between mud pies and the sea.
3. Waiting builds resilience
Our key verse promises that those who wait “shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Waiting, paradoxically, builds endurance. It strengthens our spiritual muscles for the long journey of faith.
As James writes, “Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4). The capacity to persist through delayed fulfillment makes us more complete, more whole.
4. Waiting deepens appreciation
Things received after waiting are often valued more highly than those acquired instantly. The joy of Christmas morning is heightened by the anticipation of Advent. The sweetness of reunion is intensified by the longing of separation.
This principle applies spiritually as well. When God fulfills His promises after a season of waiting, our gratitude and wonder are deepened by the journey.
Waiting in the Christmas Story
The Christmas narrative is full of waiting. Consider these examples:
- Zechariah and Elizabeth had waited their entire lives for a child before John the Baptist was conceived
- Mary waited through nine months of pregnancy in increasingly difficult circumstances
- Simeon had waited his entire life to see the Messiah, with the Holy Spirit’s promise that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Christ
- Anna had waited as a widow for 84 years, serving in the temple with fasting and prayer, looking for the redemption of Jerusalem
Each of these individuals experienced waiting not as passive endurance but as active anticipation. They didn’t just mark time; they prepared themselves for what God would do. Their waiting was purposeful and formative.
Practicing Purposeful Waiting
How can we reclaim waiting as a spiritual discipline, especially during this Advent season? Here are some practical suggestions:
1. Embrace daily “waiting spaces”
Instead of immediately filling empty moments with phone scrolling or other distractions, intentionally leave some spaces unfilled. While waiting in line, sitting at a stoplight, or before falling asleep, practice being present with God rather than reaching for distraction.
2. Delay gratification intentionally
In small ways, practice waiting for things you could have immediately. This might mean:
- Saving a special treat for later in the day
- Waiting to check social media until after completing important work
- Delaying a purchase for a week to see if the desire persists
These small exercises build our “waiting muscles” for more significant situations.
3. Keep an Advent calendar or candles
Traditional Advent practices are designed to sanctify waiting. An Advent calendar or weekly candle lighting creates a rhythm of anticipation that counters our culture’s rush to Christmas.
4. Journal your waiting
When waiting for something significant—healing, direction, restoration—keep a journal of the journey. Record your questions, frustrations, and glimpses of God’s presence. This transforms waiting from empty time to a documented spiritual journey.
5. Study biblical waiting stories
Spend time with Scripture’s great “waiters”—Abraham, Joseph, David, Simeon, Anna. What sustained them? How did God meet them in their waiting? What changed in them during the waiting period?
6. Practice contemplative prayer
Contemplative prayer traditions embrace waiting and silence. Practices like centering prayer, lectio divina, or the prayer of examen all involve slowing down and waiting attentively for God’s voice rather than filling prayer time with our own words.
Active Waiting
It’s important to note that biblical waiting is never passive resignation. It’s active, expectant, and engaged. The Hebrew word often translated as “wait” (qavah) carries connotations of tension and expectation—like a bow drawn back, storing energy for when the arrow is released.
Isaiah doesn’t say, “They who wait for the LORD shall take a nap.” He says they “shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary.” This is dynamic, purposeful waiting that prepares us for action.
The Ultimate Waiting
As Christians, our entire lives exist in a kind of waiting. We live between Christ’s first coming, which we celebrate at Christmas, and His promised return. The early Christians captured this with their prayer “Maranatha”—”Come, Lord Jesus.”
This season of Advent reminds us that we are a waiting people. We celebrate Christ’s first arrival while simultaneously longing for His return to make all things new. This tension—between the “already” of Christ’s first coming and the “not yet” of His return—defines our spiritual journey.
By embracing waiting as a discipline rather than merely enduring it as a hardship, we align ourselves with God’s formative work in our lives. We discover, perhaps surprisingly, that in waiting we find renewal, not depletion. We learn that waiting on God is never wasted time but is itself a holy activity.
Next week, we’ll explore “Expectation vs. Expectancy”—how our cultural expectations of the holiday season often differ from the spiritual expectancy modeled by those who awaited the Messiah’s first coming.