When God Says Wait: Finding Stillness in the Waiting Room

Waiting is one of our least favorite things to do. It starts when we’re young, learning to wait our turn to play, and it continues as adults when we’re stuck in traffic moving at a snail’s pace. Nobody really likes to wait. Think about a child whose parents tell them about a birthday party coming up next weekend. The child lights up with excitement and a million questions. As the days go by, they may grow impatient, but if mom and dad gave their word, the child trusts that the day will come. They rest in their parents’ character and in the fact that, in the past, their promises have been kept. Just like that child waiting for a promise to be fulfilled, we also find ourselves waiting in this life. Some are waiting for a promise from the Lord to come to pass, others for God’s intervention, and some for a miracle. In those seasons of waiting, we may catch ourselves thinking, If only life could move at microwave speed—maybe it would make all of this easier, right?

There are seasons in our walk with God when it feels like we’re sitting in a waiting room. We wait for His direction, for a relationship to be restored, or for healing to come. While we’re waiting for breakthrough in that “waiting room,” the question is: how can we be still? We learn to be patient in the waiting through prayer, praise, and surrender.

Praise in the Waiting 

It’s very easy to be consumed by life’s circumstances, especially in seasons of waiting. The situation in front of us can quietly become a “god” in our lives—something we place above God—because it takes our time, drains our emotions, and convinces us it’s bigger than Him. The best way to fight that is through praise. Worshiping and praising His name helps put everything back into perspective. When we exalt Him, we remind ourselves of who He is and the place He holds in our lives—far above any circumstance.

Psalm 34:1–3 says, “I will praise the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will boast about the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” David chose to praise God regardless of his situation. He chose to boast about the God he serves to remind the afflicted that they still have a reason to rejoice—and to invite them to join him in praising the Lord.

Psalm 34 gives believers a clear blueprint for how to respond in a waiting season:

1. “I will praise the Lord at all times.”

Praising the Lord isn’t meant only for the good seasons. If we only praise when things go our way, our worship becomes transactional—based on what He does for us instead of who He is to us.

2. “I will boast about the Lord.” 

When we boast about God, we remind ourselves of who He is and what He has done. That’s why boasting in the Lord is a remedy for the afflicted. They can rejoice in His faithfulness and remember that if He did it before, He can—and will—do it again.

3. “Let us exalt His name together.”

God invites us to praise Him in community. He doesn’t want us to walk through the waiting room alone. When we invite our believing friends to worship with us, they become witnesses of how God brings breakthrough. Their faith is encouraged, and ultimately, God receives the glory.

Praising the Lord is a powerful remedy in times of waiting. It’s easy to listen to the lies of the enemy that say God has forgotten us. It’s easy to believe that the problem in front of us is too big or too impossible. But when we lift our hands and exalt Him, we remind ourselves of who He is.

He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider.

He is Jehovah Shalom, our Peace.

He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, the all-sufficient One.

He is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer.

These are just a few of His names that we can declare in worship. As we praise Him, we can also “speak back” to the problem: You may be big, but my God is God Almighty. Praise may not instantly change the valley we’re walking through, but it breathes life into dry bones. It refreshes our hearts and gives us hope in Christ to persevere.

Keeping Hope Alive 

It’s easy to become frustrated when it feels like God isn’t listening. Sometimes it seems like He isn’t there, or worse, like He doesn’t care. When a waiting season stretches on longer than we expected, it can feel like Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

Hope is the expectation and longing for something good to be fulfilled, but when that fulfillment is delayed, discouragement can settle in quickly. So the question becomes: how do we fight discouragement in the waiting?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Jeremiah was able to rest and hope in God’s promise for his life, trusting that what he saw in the physical was not the end of the story. In the same way, we can rest in the truth that God holds the blueprint of our lives.

He has a plan. Nothing catches God by surprise. Even when it feels like the walls are closing in, He Himself has promised that there is a future and a hope for you. His thoughts toward you are good because He is a good Father. When discouragement starts to rise up, you can rest in knowing that the Father is working all things together for good—and that His promises over your life will be fulfilled. 

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

When God spoke through Isaiah, it was to warn, instruct, and also to comfort His people. In the same way, our Lord comforts us in seasons of waiting, because He is “the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Hoping in the Lord is the perfect remedy for those in despair. Remember, hope is the expectation and longing for something good to be fulfilled. So when you place your hope in God—a faithful, covenant-keeping God (Deuteronomy 7:9)—your strength is renewed as a result. This doesn’t happen passively; it happens as we seek Him and rely on His strength instead of our own. With that renewed strength from the Lord, you are able to rise above your situation, to keep running without growing weary, and to keep walking without fainting.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3–4)

Paul knew what it meant to wait. He experienced multiple seasons of imprisonment for preaching the gospel, yet he chose to surrender to God in the midst of adversity. In those moments, he allowed God to work and to receive the glory. Be encouraged and have hope—God will glorify Himself in your situation as well.

We hold on to hope in the waiting by believing wholeheartedly that our covenant-keeping God and good Father has a plan—and that the promises He has spoken over our lives will not return empty. He has said that His words will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent them (Isaiah 55:11).

As we wait, our strength is renewed by knowing that His desires for us are good, and that the testimony that will come out of this season will make us more like Jesus and bring Him glory.

Embracing Peace   

Anxiety and worry can easily take hold of our minds when it seems like nothing is happening in our favor. But there are three ways we can remain at peace while we wait: seeking Him in prayer and supplication, finding true rest in God, and remembering that He will fight for us.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7)

As mentioned before, Paul faced many challenges and even threats to his life. Yet he chose to find security in the God who called him—and in the Father who hears our requests and gives us peace. That same security and peace is available to you.

Paul reminds believers that in every situation, instead of letting anxiety take over, we are to bring our needs to the Lord in prayer and petition. Not because God doesn’t already know, but because He desires to hear it from our own lips as His children. Prayer is communication with God, while supplication is specifically asking Him to act. He knows our requests, but He invites our participation through prayer.

Paul also tells us to present our requests with gratitude. As we lay our needs at His feet, we simultaneously remind ourselves of His past faithfulness—and we know He will bless us again. The result is that the peace of God guards our hearts and minds. Gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist. Through gratitude, His peace becomes a fortress around our hearts and minds. His peace is beyond understanding, which means it must be experienced.

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:5)

David’s soul found rest not in changed circumstances, but in God Himself—and we can do the same when life feels stuck.

In this verse, David is reminding his own soul to stay in a place of surrender and to entrust his life to the Lord. His expectation was placed entirely on God. It’s in that place of sweet surrender that we, too, find peace in the Lord. We can rest in the truth that our expectations will not be disappointed, because He is steadfast in His love and great is His faithfulness toward us.

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)

The Israelites saw with their own eyes how the Lord fought for them and opened the Red Sea. In the same way, He will fight for you and make a way where you see no way.

We can rest in the truth that the Lord of Hosts fights on our behalf. When we surrender to the reality that He is in control, we can stop striving in our own strength and begin to rely on His. While we pray and present our petitions, He is the One who acts for us. As His children, our job is not to carry the weight of every battle in worry and fear, but to recognize His authority, His power, and His sovereignty over our lives.

When we trust that the Lord is fighting on our behalf, and that He listens to our petitions because He loves us deeply, we find true rest and peace in the waiting. We can relax into the truth that He is the same God who opened the Red Sea and made a way where there was none. We place our hope in the Lord who weaves every part of our lives—the good and the painful—into a beautiful tapestry of good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Just like the child in the illustration who has many questions for her parents about the promised plans, it’s normal for us as believers to be filled with questions in times of waiting. Many of the great figures in the Bible—Abraham, Moses, Gideon—had questions too. Abraham wondered when God’s promises would come to pass. Moses and Gideon questioned their calling and their ability to carry it out. Yet in every one of their situations, God glorified Himself. He showed that the fulfillment of His promises—though in His timing and not ours—reveals His steadfast love and faithfulness.

When the waiting feels overwhelming and it seems impossible to be still, we can remember how Moses and Gideon experienced victory by letting God be God—by being still and allowing “I AM” to make a way. Being still in the waiting is not easy; it truly is what it looks like to walk out our faith. In the midst of our worship, we are declaring who our faith is in.

Faith becomes a shield that protects us from the darts of discouragement and despair, because we cling to His words spoken over us and trust that He will complete the work He began in us. Faith also brings the comfort of God’s peace and rest, as we believe that He knows us, sees our needs, and will act on our behalf.

Waiting is not forever, but His steadfast love and faithfulness are. Today, let’s put our hope in the One who has conquered it all. Instead of fixing our eyes on our personal storms, we can find stillness by lifting our eyes to the King who walked on stormy waters.