5 Bible Passages For Seasons of Waiting

Going through a season of waiting is difficult. No matter what you are waiting for, no one likes to wait, especially in our fast-paced, get-it-now society. But when the wait is for something big, like getting pregnant, or a home, or a loved one to get better, the waiting can feel unbearable. We have been in a long season of waiting ourselves (over 2 years), and while I wish I could say I’ve handled it perfectly, I can’t. But it has ultimately driven me to God’s Word to find strength and grace and whatever else I can find to help me get through each day. Our season of waiting hasn’t ended yet, but we have hope that it will soon. Below are some passages that have encouraged me, and I hope that they will be a help to you as well.

Lamentations 3:24-26

The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him! The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

This passage reminds us to keep hoping in the Lord because He is good, no matter what. It also challenges us to keep seeking to know Him more through life’s challenges and to be quiet in our spirits rather than complaining about our circumstances. He is my portion…He is enough for us to be content even when we feel we are lacking something we need.

Psalm 27:13-14

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

David is sharing his own struggle with waiting. We don’t know what specific circumstance prompted him to write this psalm, but his story contains several instances where he could have felt this way. I know that I have definitely felt like losing heart over the past couple of years of waiting. However, David’s hope was in God’s goodness in his season of waiting, and he reminds us that we can hope in the goodness of our God as well. He challenges us to wait on Him, to have courage as we continue facing the trial, and to rely on God’s strength for each moment.

Psalm 62:5-8

My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

There is a lot in this passage, but some key thoughts are, again, to wait silently (so hard!), yet the end of the passage invites us to pour out our hearts to Him. Being silent isn’t necessarily refraining from talking to the Lord about our struggle, but stopping ourselves from looking to someone or something else for refuge. As David points out, God ONLY is my rock, salvation, defense, and refuge…not anything else we may try to look to. We should trust in HIM at all times…not anything else. It is so easy to turn to other things for comfort and help. But nothing else will fill our longing. He is a refuge for us. As we seek to faithfully endure our waiting season, we can pour out our hearts to Him and know that He will give us the comfort and help that we so desperately crave.

Psalm 130:5-7

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning–Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption.

This passage reminds us once again to wait for the Lord, and to find our hope in His Word. Sometimes it will feel as if we are waiting on someone or something else to act, but God is ultimately in charge of everything, and we really must realize that He will cause the thing we are waiting for to happen in His time and way. Our hope is in Him, not someone else. The encouraging thing is that He does give mercy and abundant redemption. He can “buy back” what feels lost while we are waiting and provide the mercy we need to cope with our circumstances.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Finally, we must remember that this life on earth is but a vapor. When we are in the midst of a waiting season or any other trial, time can feel endless. But one way or another, the trial will end, whether it be here on earth or when Christ returns. We must keep our eyes on the eternal and allow God to prune and grow us through our struggle. I don’t say that lightly…I know it is hard. I’ve wrestled through this myself because no one likes to go through hard things. We wonder why God can’t grow us some other way, but if we’re honest, we know that the greatest joys are often borne out of great struggle.

In your season of waiting, be sure to look for the beauty in every day…the small things that you might often overlook, the little things that God does to encourage you along the way and keep you going. Keep a journal or list of these things. When this season ends, it will be a great reminder of what God did as well as an encouragement when the next trial comes your way. You may need to use it to encourage someone else in their trial. Check out my post on God’s amazing love for us and this one on Joseph’s season of waiting for some extra encouragement. I would also recommend the book Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. It is an excellent study.