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Welcome to those of you who’ve landed here after reading my Proverbs 31 devotion Wait Training 101. If you haven’t read it, click here to catch up with the rest of us.
Ever feel like this screen shot from my phone sums up your life perfectly?
Yeah. Me too.
Let’s chat about waiting today.
What are you currently waiting on God about? How long has it been? What do you do while you are waiting that helps to settle your heart and mind? What do you think about the concept from the devotion of “waiting on God” like a maid or butler or waiter?
And let’s help one of you along as you wait. That person will win this giveaway:
It includes:
~ A Mission of God brown leatherette Bible in the Holman Christian Standard version
~ A Bible highlighter
~ Three plaid journals (to journal while you wait)
~Some Cinnamon coffee to sip while you wait
~ Some Caribbean Escape hand soap (You know the signs always say all employees–including waiters–must wash hands!)
~A copy of my newest book LET. IT. GO. How to Stop Running the Show & Start Walking in Faith. (It is on how to stop trying to control and start trusting God)
To be entered to win, leave a comment today.
BONUS: If you also sign up for my posts via email, you will be entered twice.
Follow me on Pinterest (or if you already do, pin today’s giveaway on PInterest) you’ll be entered three times.
“Like” me on Facebook (or share this post on Facebook)? FOUR entries.
Yep. You guessed it. Follow me on Twitter or tweet about today’s post. You get five chances to win.
If you did any of the bonus activities, please tell me in your comment. (And yes, I have people who can check it out so no funny stuff. lol)
Okay. Let’s chat about today’s topic.
I’m waiting……….:)
Thank you so much for today’s devotion…..just what I needed. I have read that scripture so many times and did not see that it said “wait: on the Lord…..how is that? I have been waiting for God to move in my life for employment…I have a great resume, I have always been successful in landing a great job, but this time…nothing ..Most times.I have felt at peace, however lately I am beginning to worry that I am not doing enough or doing something terribly wrong in my search and in my interviews. I know the economy is terrible and unemployment is high in the state I have returned too….but this just never happens to me…so I wait and wait…and I feel He is calling me to serve…so you have just confirmed that while I wait I WAIT on Him…
Jone,
As a bit of encouragement, I was unexpectedly unemployed for nearly two years. Like you, I wondered and questioned…and doubted myself. However, God used that time in my life to bless others in serving Him and for deepening my relationship with Him. In the end, He opened the door to the “perfect” job that matched not only my skills and preferences but there is a core of devoted Christians working in the company.
Hold on and look up! He is working in you and for you. Be ready to fly!
Thanks Becca….that put a smile on my face!
I’m fairly new at studying the Bible. I find myself craving more of His word and promises. While he has been good to me, I’ve been praying and waiting for 4 years for changes with mt son. I find myself growing impatient with him as each day passes. I know He works on His timing and once I pray for something I’m suppose thank Him as if He has aleady answered it. However, the waiting is difficult. This Wait Training 101 would be perfect for me to study. I liked u on FB and subscribed to ur newsletter. So, good luck to me.
WAIT is a 4 letter word in my life. i can’t wait to do this study to help me as i am in the valley of waiting right now. just when you think you’re headed up the mountain….back to square one and WAITING again. thank you for your willingness to be used to bless folks like me!
Waiting, yes I continue to wait, waiting for healing balm for my marriage, a wayward 17 year old step-daughter and for a step-son to realize he is taking steps on the same path his sister took and it didn’t and won’t go so well. Waiting, waiting still waiting. I love WAITING ON the Lord as my focus instead of the pain.
Thank you,
Blessings,
kareng
This devotional is exactly what I needed this morning. I / my husband and I have been in ‘God’s waiting room’ since last October when they first found out that he had lesions on his lung. After 3 months they redid the scans and lesion was growing, so it had to come out ASAP. Surgery was his week, the surgeon got the lesion out completely, but prem report indicate lymphoma, so we WAIT some more for the final pathology report to determine if further treatment is needed. WAITING is hard, but I am so encouraged by this verse those who ‘wait’ on the Lord ; serve Him, shall renew their strength. Lord teach me / us to serve you even more, in this time of waiting on You.
Thank you for these encouraged words!! My tears are rolling while I´m writing, because the first thing you wrote was waiting to get pregnant… So I´m waiting and it is so hard when this questions come, what if I never…!!! that shakes my heart and I just whisper, Lord help me, please help me to accept your will and I try to remember when God has been there for me in difficult situations, He has never let me down or alone, He is good. God bless you!!
Anne
Anne,
You’re definitely not alone in your struggle! I’m struggling with this exact same thing currently (have been for over a year) and the prospect of never having my own child is terrifying and daunting. But take heart in knowing that just because you might always struggle to conceive (same here), there are always other options to becoming a mom. My husband and I are pursuing adoption through our home state, and in doing so, the majority of our adoption costs are covered by the state. I only mention this because I know that when people talk about adoption, the costs involved are often a deterrent/hindrance, but if you go through the state, I think that at a minimum, it’s not nearly as expensive if you were to adopt privately. It’s something to look into! There are so many little children hoping and praying for a mom and dad, much like I’m sure you are praying for children. You could easily be an answer to their prayers and they to yours.
As a side note, you can adopt younger children through the state too. It would probably take longer if you’re wanting to adopt an infant, but you do have that possibility. Praying for you and your struggle and that God would meet you in your weakness and strengthen you. I’m praying for the same thing for myself and my husband. God bless!
This was what I have needed to hear. I’ve been praying for a relationship with family members for Seven years. It’s been a struggle.
Liked you on Facebook, signed up for your emails!
This was exactly what I needed to hear today. I have been waiting on word from a job that I applied to and it was causing me to worry. Thank you so much for this.
Thank you, Karen for your post today. I needed it, as I am impatient and like things completed quickly. Have a great day!
I’m in a waiting game & trying not to lose my patience but God is giving me the strength to make it through each day. I follow you on twitter & facebook. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love the twist you put on waiting. Making it an active rather than passive thing brings multiple blessings, instead of promoting self-induce pity parties. Thanks for the new perspective!
Waiting is so difficult but this is a great new perspective! Thank you! I signed up for emails, followed you on pinterest and pinned this, and liked you on Facebook!
WOW – Awesome Blog today and thank you. I like what you said, “As we serve, we become more aware of what the One we are waiting on desires”.
That is my prayer.
I also wanted to share about an amazing song by John Waller – While Im Waiting.
It speaks so strongly about the wait process with the Lord. Worth listening too.
Happy Friday – Colleen G.
This is such great advice. I have never seen it from this perspective! Thank yiu!!
Waiting, waiting, waiting. That is all I ever seem to do anymore. My 15 year old son is profoundly disabled. Last month we were given the news that his body is tired and is beginning to slowly shut down. Waiting on his next medical crisis and even waiting on the day when he is free from his broken earthly body is my daily struggle. I pray constantly for peace in my mind and heart. The Lord always answers. I hear His words plain as day. Each time I pray for peace, clarity and answers, His words are always the same…Be patient my child. I am not good at patience. I am not good at waiting. But after reading your devotion today, I realized, I must not wait on the Lord for my needs, but I must serve the Lord and one day, my prayers will be answered.
Oh I forgot to say that I did like your page on Facebook
I am praising God that my sister shared this link with me this morning. I have been “waiting” for job employment for almost a year now. I think maybe the Lord is wanting me to make a career out of job applications, resume writing and interviews…..
I definately have been practicing “waiting upon the Lord”. Even in this time of waiting the Lord has been blessing me beyond words. Thank you for a new insite on “waiting. The devotional is very inspiring. God Bless.
What a wonderful perspective. Thank you! Though I’m not presently waiting on any answers, this is a wonderful reminder to continually serve Him so that I can know and follow His will at ALL times, not just in times of uncertainty.
I have been dealing with a very difficult situation for the past week – something that has required a lot of waiting. Your message today was a great reminder to wait ON THE LORD! It truly does change your perspective, allowing us to rejoice in the Lord. And as we know, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Once again God has given me exactly what I need today.
Waiting is so very difficult. I have been depressed for at least 1 yr. and caring for 5 kids, and now another on the way. When will it get better. I know a lot of it has to do with my childhood-past of things to let go of etc.. and not feel the abandonment, fear etc.. but gosh I just want it all to get better. Because in the process my children have to wait for me to get better, and it is so unfair to them.
We are waiting on a daughter through international adoption. What a wait it has been! This has been on my heart for at least two or three years! We also had a “misfire”. We thought God had opened a door and we eagerly went through it, only to have the mom change her mind. We were devastated! And now, we’re back to waiting some more! So thanks for your encouragement!! I love the idea of “waiting” on God like a waitress!!
I have a hard time waiting. We have a son who is 30 years old, and really needs to get back to the Lord. We pray and wait, it’s hard. This was very encouraging today.
I’m waiting to hear from God about someone I love. I feel like I’m hearing Him tell me “peace, peace, it’s all in my hands,” and I pray that my love is waiting, listening, praying, too. I’m hoping this person is able to make a connection with God, honestly, more than with me.
Despite my general sense of peace, I have my moments of pain, so this devotional was very timely today. I’m also working more on the other kind of “waiting on God” — service & study.
I’d love to win. Thanks for the giveaway!
I never thought about this verse from the “waiter” angle. I love it when someone shows me a new perspective on an old favorite verse. I read your devotion in the Proverbs 31 email and am so glad to have found your blog. Signing up for emails and liking on fb.
I follow you on Facebook, too!
I also follow you on Twitter.
Thank you Karen for your heart!!
Weight training is easier for me! I get so task driven, love making lists and checking off items. I feel so uneasy waiting or having quiet time – it doesn’t seem as productive as working, working, working. Lord help me to wait patiently, to rest in Your love, and to relish our times together in prayer and in the study of Your precious Word for me!
Thank you for your thoughts on that Isaiah verse, Karen. I have never thought of it in that way. I love the new perspective. I am waiting for some of my older children to turn back to the Lord. It is hard watching them wander, but it brings me to my knees in prayer often (and that is a good thing). I will keep waiting on the Lord while I wait for Him to capture their hearts again.
I’m always waiting so I like your take on “waiting” on the Lord. Being active not passive. I was also reading James 3 today on showing our faith by our works. I thing these two devotions go hand in hand:) I have a son in college and another graduating this year. We are praying and waiting for direction for his future. I have a daughter who will graduate next year and then another a year after her. And one in middle school!!! It can be overwhelming to think of their futures and where God wants them( and how we are going to afford this! lol) I’m just trying to get through tennis practices, band concerts, prom and graduation. But God is faithful:) I will put down my e mail eventhough I do not have a computer at home. I do not know how to twitter or do pintrest though. i do have a facebook account as I “wait” on the salvation of my older brother. I have been praying for him for 37 years. Like I said, I am always waiting on God:)
Hi. I’m from Romania. I read your devotion today and then this blog entry. I look up the Romanian version of this verse. In this version of It the word used means “trust” in English. I’m so blessed to have learned English as a child, so that I can read all these other versions of the Bible, and undersatand It in so many different ways. An amazing new perspective you gave me.
Definitely in a wait time in my life. Would honestly try to control it and do something if I could but I can’t. The waiting saps the joy right out of my life but I’m trying to refocus on gratitude for what I have and not worry over what I don’t. The battle wages on..
As I’m sitting here reading this message, I’m listening to the radio. What song comes on? Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord! Do you think God is trying to tell me something?
Wow, The Lord knew I needed to be reminded of His words today and of course the encouragement from your blog. I lost my husband unexpectedly 8 months ago and I am waiting and waiting for our home to sell. It is beyond my financial capabilities so must make a move. It is hard to wait for Gods timing on this, but I also know He is in control and I need not worry. I read these words in His Word but have to be honest it is a bit difficult living them. But with His help and wisdom I will persevere.
I have recently struggled with waiting & never getting pregnant with a second child our family wanted. I tried to wait but it was so emotional. I wish I had focused on serving Him but I really accepted that I might have wanted a child for wrong reasons and stopped waiting. I need to focus on waiting on God again. Thank you for today’s message. Will be doing email and Facebook entries too. Thanks!!!
We have been having a problem with our well since last fall. My husband has his own idea of how to fix the problem. Every day I find myself saying I just want this over. I was encouraged and appreciated your comments about serving as I am waiting. That gives me focus and perspective as I wait.
I’m waiting and listening for clear direction if God wants me to lead a bible study in my home or i am open to any area of serving Him. As I wait for the clear direction, He uses me to make hospital visits, babysit at church functions, serving and loving my husband more deeply, helping family members, send out encouraging words, more time in prayer just being open and acting when he calls on a daily bases. I have grown to know God is in control and to worry is a waste of time.
Thanks so much for this devotion! Definitely something I needed to hear and I know God is trying to teach me. I just got done with one very long waiting period and now realize that I’m in the midst of a couple more! I can get soo bogged down in worry and “what ifs”. I’m going to work on waiting/serving during these waiting times!
Blessings!
Love the idea of “wait training” … makes it seem not so impossible. We moved to a new state quickly about 18 months ago for a great job for my husband, leaving behind our home that has yet to sell, my business that is hard to run from here, and just our life as we knew it. Now we’re renting and paying a mortgage due to non paying renters. Navigating the waters of this transition has exhausted us mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially and physically. We’ve found a wonderful church and are in “wait training” while the rest of His plan comes to light.
Thanks for this devotional this morning! This really struck close to home for me. I appreciate your insights on “waiting on the Lord” and what that really looks like. Thinking of waiting as one who serves and helps Him accomplish His work is far preferable to seeing myself as someone selfishly “waiting” like a petulant child who is pouting and angry that she has not gotten what she wants yet!! I’m sad to say my waiting is often more reflective of that selfish child. Your words will shape my day and for that I’m grateful. Blessings! I will e-mail as well along with following you on Pinterest.
came to your blog through Proverbs 31 devotion. This could not have been more aptly timed. I am struggling daily with waiting and worry. I know the Lord is in control of all the situations in my life, yet I have such a hard time trusting that He will never leave me abandoned and alone. Thank you for your encouragement.
Signed up for the email notifications also.
Waiting is one of the hardest areas of faith that I tend to deal with. Even when I try to sugercoat it and say I’m ok with waiting, I’m really not! Just keeping it real! Thankyou for this devo. Love the concept of “wait training”.
I just subscribed to your email updates.
I already like you on FB.
I already follow you on pinterest.
Thankyou so much!
I have many items unsettled in my life that I am “waiting” on answers for right now. Job interview, bad financial situation to be relieved somehow that seems to be hit harder everyday, a failing marriage and yet lately my hurt, depression, and feelings of failure have led me to abandon waiting on the Lord the way you describe. I guess my thoughts are that people will see through me and know that life isn’t so rosy and I portray it to be. However, as I have withdrawn I am losing my intimacy with Christ and with my community of believers. Thank you for encouragement this morning to get back on the horse and do what I am suppose to do.
Hello Karen, “Let it Go” sounds like a book I could really use right now. I have liked you on Facebook and Pinterest and signed up for your blog by e-mail. Have a great day.
I am a rubbish “waiter”! This is a constant frustration I have with myself because where on one side faith is near top on my list of spiritual gifts, there is a part of me over certain areas that just cannot let go. I grip on to those things like crazy glue!! I know in my heart God’s plan for me is good but I fall in and out of trust with Him to see it through. I need to get a copy of your book and delve head-first into see if the words He put on your heart can break through to mine!
I am waiting desperately for something as well. The Lord seems so quiet in this, so quiet that I don’t even know if I am going in the right direction. Thank you for the verse today. It is helping quite a bit.
~ Dorothy
Waiting is hard sometimes….but you had some good advice in your post. I can’t wait to hear more:)
When I read your message today it made me think of my daughter. She struggles with infertility – the questions you raised in the article:
What if this doesn’t work out?
What if God’s answer is “No”?
What if the thing I fear the most actually happens … what then?
…are the same questions I’ve heard her ask as well. Thank you for writing this, I will send it to her and allow the Lord to use it to encourage her to continue waiting and not to lose hope.
God Bless You!
My One Little Word is renew, and Isaiah 40:31 is my verse. I love the concept of waiting on God as a waitress or maid…staying alert and attentive to Him! Renewing my spiritual strength to give Him the glory and make Him famous….yes!! I have already received some of His generous tips, and I can’t ‘wait’ to receive more! Thanks so much…I’m keeping this devotion in my My One Little Word file!!
I receive your emails.
I am currently waiting on God to help us become debt-free. I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for many, many years now and it can become quite scary at times. I haven’t been completely faithful during this time. I tend to become worried and anxious and have actually been incompacitated with fear at times. But in this past year God has really been helping me to learn to trust him. I’m clinging to his promises that He is Jehovah Jirah, my provider. I have signs hanging in my cubicle at work to remind me that He can be trusted. One of them reads :”Confidence is not based on you having all the resources needed to take care of yourself; confidence is based upon the truth that God is faithful.”~ Roy Lessin. Things like these are visual reminders for me for when it becomes overwhelming. I’m beginning to be faithful in my tithes again and even when i only have $20 to make it a week and we need groceries or gas, I am trusting that He will provide what we need.
I had never thought about waiting on God like a maid before. But that makes sense because if we are waiting on God for something, then we need to be waiting while doing what he’s asking us to do. While we are “busy” serving him, he is busy meeting our needs and creating the perfect circumstances for our provision.
I love the imagery of “Wait Training”, especially the comparison that “weight” training builds physical strength and “wait” training builds spiritual strength. That is going to stick in my mind
* liked Facebook – check
don’t have an account any longer – canceled it to be sure I didn’t infringe on any copyright laws) – otherwise I’d have pinned you for sure 
* followed on twitter – check
* signed up for emails – check
* Pinterest – sorry
Karen,
Your devotional this morning was very uplifting and encouraging to me. I feel all of us have things we are waiting on depending on where we are in our lives. Waiting is a topic which has come up quite a bit recently in with my friends and I. One is waiting for the Lord to lead her husband to a job in the field he loves, another is waiting on the Lord concerning adopting a child. I’m going to share this with them. I’m looking forward to keeping up with you on facebook and e-mail updates.
Thank you for the work you do for the Lord and God Bless you.
I could not sign up for your e-mails at least while I am at work, so I will once I get home this evening.
Thank you for this post. I have been waiting on the Lord to heal my husband for 4 years. He spared his life after a brain aneurysm, but with many physical and mental deficits. I am always expecting that today would be the day.
I am waiting on my 4th baby to be born in July and it is HARD!! Many days, I am “JUST DONE”, as my 4 yr old will say! This babe, along with my 3 others, has zapped all my strength some days and I just feel like I can’t get anything done! Gotta learn to use this time with God and know that He is pruning me! I also have been praying about how I can wait ON God, serving Him, while I rest. This is a very timely devotion and I can’t wait to see if I win the prize!! Thank you and God Bless!!
)
Great advice! Waiting is stressful, but getting your attention off of that & on to others always brings joy!
I received your devotion through Proverbs31 this morning. I enjoyed the visual images your words gave the scripture this morning. Thank you for using your GOD given talents to enrich my morning. You gave me new insight to a verse I already cherish. May you be blessed for your obedience to Him.
thanks for putting together such an awesome giveaway- somebody is gonna get really lucky! definitely great components to have handy while in the ‘waiting room’. I loved your analogies. I agree that God tips out of this world, we just have a hard time being patient to receive that tip. I was just thinking that it’s been a few years of me patiently (at least in my view) waiting on two important things and it seems like long enough- but then I think that for God our a few years are just a moment and nobody said that there is a magic number of yrs to wait and then we get what we want, so thank you for the hint of working on my spiritual ‘wait training’…I guess I’ll think of it that way from today onward.
I’ve signed up to your emails, liked on fb, and pinterest…but sorry, don’t tweet, so we’ll just have to hope for whatever chances I get to be the lucky one for the awesome giveaway.
Good weekend to all and happy waiting!
ooops, sorry forgot to add, I fb-ed and pinterest-ed your pages under my 2nd name (Marisha)
thanks for such a great message today. I am actually waiting to see what God wants of me in this new season of my life. My daughter is now off to college and doesn’t need me as much and I am not sure what direction to do in. This message helped a lot. I love your posts and wish I could spend a whole day just looking all over your blog, facebook and past articles. I need so much inspiration right about now!
I so appreciate this blog on waiting. I have been waiting almost 25 years for a certain huge burdensome financial situation, that was left after my first husband was killed in a car accident, to be resolved. I was really struggling this past year over why my prayers have not been answered. It can be very hard focusing on God and not the circumstance when you keep getting notices in the mail or phone calls etc and it has to be addressed.
Your blog and the outlook it presents helped me tremendously. Thank you.
Thank you for the shift in perspective about waiting. My husband and I have spent the last 12 years trying to add a child to our family. Years of trying to conceive, futile fertility attempts, failed adoptions and now more waiting for a recent medical procedure…it’s hard sometimes to not get weary and/or angry. I can’t imagine why God would give us this desire and leave us waiting so long. Hope deferred DOES make the sick. I’m asking God for grace today to let my frustrations and questions go, at least for today.
Hi! This devotion was a true God send this morning. I am so thankful for all I have learned today.
Also, thank you tor the fun giveaway. I posted on Fb about the devotion & giveaway
Then I started following you on pinterest & signed up to receive your blog posts in my email & I am (obviously:) commenting now. I do have a twitter account but am very new to twitter so am hoping my post will show up on twitter as well:)
so that’s a fun total of. 5 entries! Yea thank you & blessings!
Thank you for this devotion today. I am just getting back into going to church and for the first time on a deeper level. So learning to wait on God is kind of a new concept for me. I really enjoyed this devotion
Waiting, I am and have been waiting for God’s answer to my Son’s broken marriage and career. I am waiting for financial help and wisdom for our business. I loved your devotion today. It helped me to put it all in a different perspective. Thank YOU!
I’m waiting on God to draw my husband closer to Him. Though he is a Christian, his heart is far from following God….I am so thirsty for a marriage that is God-pleasing, not money-pleasing. I am waiting for my own career to start up again. I am waiting for wisdom regarding our family plans. I have always been in the waiting game, but I still suck at it.
Wow…I don’t know a time when I DON’T need to hear today’s devotion! I often feel like I’m in a constant game of Tug-Of-War with God and my worries are the rope. I give my worries to God…and then…”Oh, you know those worries I gave You? I need them back because I appear to enjoy lying awake at night!” It time to do more waiting and less Tug-Of-War-ing.
Thanks for all you do.
Ellen
Waiting on God is not easy. I find that praying really helps me. Especially praying with thanksgiving even when I don’t feel very thankful. I ask for God’s peace when I pray and wait. I also keep praying over and over, even though God knows what I am asking it helps me to continue to communicate with him.
This TOTALLY clicked for me! I always thought that “waiting” on the Lord was a passive activity…one that drove me nuts! But I NEVER thought of it in an “active” sense. It really makes more sense that way! Thank you!
The perspective you brought to me has given me energy to keep waiting on–serving–God.
Blessings!
Melinda
I am the single mother of two teenagers & I’ve been single for right at 10 years now. Talk about “wait mode”. I do have a desire to be a wife again; but I don’t want to do anything outside of God’s will for my life; so I choose to wait on Him. I know He is my strength & joy through it all!! I would love to have your study “Let It Go”. Sounds like one I could really use!! God Bless!
Loved today’s devotion. I have never really thought about waiting like that.
Shared it on facebook.
Having been a waitress for 40 years, I am familiar with that kind of waiting. Never thought of it in the same way as waiting for/waiting on God. What a visual in my mind!! Thanks for your great words!
Isaiah 40:31 is the verse the Lord gave me 6 years ago when I turned around and started following Him instead of the winding path I was on. I want to serve Him so badly and boldly I could scream from the mountain tops. But I am waiting for His direction, or at least trying not to force myself onto that winding path again. I am ready for some “wait training”!
I thank God and you today for today’s post. I too am waiting on an answer about a women’s leadership institute that I had applied for. It was in and out of fear and doubt untli this morning I began to pray the God will give me a better attitude about waiting on this and some other things. Thank you so much about how to wait on the LORD, by doing what nneds to be done while He works behind the scene on my behalf
Super message. Just what I needed today. I have been waiting for the last year for my husband to decide if he still wants to be married to me. It is incredibly difficult to wait to hear if your marriage has a chance or is over. I have been trying to lean into the Lord but it is certainly not always easy. Thanks so much for the encouragement!!
I understand. Hang on.
Where have you been all my life?! Your devotion today was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for the wait training encouragement!
I liked you on Facebook and now follow you on Pinterest.
Thank you so much for today’s devotion! Waiting is not my strength. My husband and I have had our share of waiting in our lifetime. We still have times of waiting. Right now, I am struggling with waiting for God to move in our church. I know that God is faithful and knows what the next hour has for us so I will continue to wait. God bless you!
What timing, as usual! I have been accused of being a control freak at times, and am actually pretty good at it. I can get things done! But the most hurtful thing in my life is that my daughter has fallen away from God. I pray daily for her to come back, but my patience is wearing thin. This devotional gives me an entirely different way to look at this situation, and everything else in life. Thank you!
P.S. I signed up for your emails, liked you on FB, and hopefully am now following you on Pinterest. I don’t Twitter.
Thanks again!!
Thank you for the devo. I have been seperated from my husband for 2 years and I am waiting on God for restoration. I have been called by God to stand in the gap for my husband and marriage. No one around me understands or believes that it is possible. But god has made me a promise and I believe. Satan attacks often with doubt and anxiety but Gid always renews my strength thru signs, scripture, and words. Like the timing of this devo. I journey on.
waiting to go back overseas in missions. we’ve been stateside for 12 years now, waiting!
plus, I liked you on facebook!
I am waiting for God to show our family where to go, we cannot afford to live in our home much longer and with the hubby’s new PT position as Youth Pastor, we would like to be closer to the church. Three bedrooms homes are abundant, however, it would not be pretty for a family of seven.
Much Love and Respect,
Jennifer
I follow you in all ways possible. x5 entries
I am already signed up for your emails, and I liked you on Facebook. My waiting consists of waiting on God regarding my husband and marriage, and the future.
In the waiting, I learn to trust God more with those areas of my life that have slip away from Him due to my own devices and I also praise God through worship and song. After all, I cannot do anything other than wait on Him to answer or to clear the way for me…..
I have tried to “help God out” at times and that has caused me nothing but anxiety and stress……therefore, although the “waiting” is hard, I know that it is for His Honor and Glory and for my good.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this post! Very deep Word from Him through you today! Thank you for sharing!
Waiting for many family members to reach out to God, or at least to be open to God! It is so discouraging to wait and watch as they flounder in a godless state of mind. I continue to pray for them and love them.
I have never thought of waiting on God as to wait as a maid, butler, etc. sometimes my request to God look more selfish where I expect Him to wait on me like a butler. I like the expectant any that this one envisions. Appreciate the giveaway, and wish everyone happy waiting!
I have never thought of “waiting” on the Lord in that way. I love it and agree completely. I waited 10 years for my husband to find God and thee years ago on Mother’s Day he made the committment to our Lord.
I am continuing to wait for some other lost family members to be saved. Praying and waiting…but now I’ll add “waiting on”. Bless you!
I learned waiting on the Lord going through infertitlity (for Seven years) and one day when reading some scriptures someone sent me, I just knew I was done with it and started to pursue adoption, and let me tell you that was a roller coaster ride for me and my husband! I can tell you I could see the hand of God in all of it and I have the most Beautiful, sweetest little girl! I am thankful for what I went through to get her because I learned so much about myself and that I need God, I know that nothing happens on my timeline and I am okay waiting for whatever comes next!
Waiting is not very easy for me. I pray daily for God to grant me patience! I guess this is His way of making me LEARN how to wait!!!
I love your analogy of waiting on God like a maid. Makes me realize that it’s all in His timing, and while I am waiting, I must serve Him the best I can, every day, with everything I have. I’m waiting for Him to show me how to be the best mother I can be to my ADHD son – this is a continuous process that I am learning every day, but I know that God is patiently guiding me along to help me be the best I can be!
thank you for this!
I, like Ruth, am just waiting for healing I’m my marriage. He is doing wonderful things in me while I wait even though somedays are better than others. Those rough days are becoming further and further apart. I no longer look to my husband to meet my needs but I am fully reliant on God. Whew! Who knew wisdom and refining had to be so painful. I am thankful though, I needed this pain to change and would never had changed had God not knocked me flat on my butt! Thank you for your words of wisdom.
Thank you for this lovely reminder and promise. Waiting on the Lord!!! Our flesh screams out “I want it now!!!” Yet when we wait for God to bring something into our life on HIS time it is so much more blessed!!!! “Strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord” Our God reigns forever!!!!!
This is my waiting list: I’m waiting on the Lord for my husband’s business to take off so we can be givers in our church, instead of just paying bills almost on time. I’m waiting for healing to take place for members of my family and for myself. I’m waiting on God and trusting Him for spiritual freedom in some areas. I’m trying to keep my head up and trying to trust in God and thank Him for what I do have, even though I’m waiting!!
Thank you so much for this. I never thought about “waiting” in terms of serving. I now have a new perspective!!! I have pinned you and liked on Facebook. Already receive daily emails from you and can’t wait to get them each day. You have been such an inspiration to me. I’m currently doing the Let.It.Go. online study with Melissa Taylor and just want you to know how this has blessed me. I’m trying so hard to Let It Go!!! and can already see some level of reduced stress already! Love you and pray for your ministry.
What am I waiting on………. There are so many things; family relationships to restore, family to take the step to trust Christ as their Savior, freedom from financial stress to name a few. I have been trying to do the Let. It. Go. bible study with my mom (via Melissa Taylor) and while I am not a total control freak I do need to Let Go and Let God more often. I am always telling my kids not to play the “what if” game when they are trying to justify something. Well, I need to not play the “what if” game while waiting on God’s direction, intervention, blessings. Thank you so much for your ministry ~ there are so many blessings from you!
Thank you, Karen for your words of wisdom. I am thankful that I found you and your book. I’m waiting on the Lord to heal my marriage as well as other things. I desperately need his guidance and to have the patience to wait for His way.
Today’s devotion really blessed me. Thank you so much. I’ve been praying and believing God for 3 years for an answer to a problem and I won’t stop or give up or give in! I also did all the bonus things for the prize entry
Thank you for your messages. I’ve needed them and feel it is timely that I came across Wait Training 101. I have not been a patient person in my past (I say this because I’m working on reframing my attitude and word choices so learning to become a patient person)
…. I have to have a new attitude. I waited until my 30s to marry and now it has been 3 years (trying to have a baby) and one recent miscarriage – and I’m healing from that emotional roller coaster and trusting that God has a plan for me and conceiving again and delivering healthy babies. I want to believe this will happen for me but have been in despair honestly from all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what did I do wrong’ and ‘why not me, everyone else is having 3 or 4′? I’m learning to lean on him in daily devotions – pouring myself into His word and releasing the judgment, pain, and bitterness. It has been a trying time on our marriage as well. I am a Type A person by nature so if there’s a problem, I fix it – and ‘letting go and letting God’ in this circumstance is where I am now (after 3 years)! Thank you for this opportunity and most importantly your ministry. I will be following it now while in waiting!
PS – I signed up for newsletters, FB, Pinterest (I don’t tweet)
Thanks!
Thank you for the devotional today – this is my life verse. I have learned to wait – not always patiently — but it easier than it use to be. At the time, I am waiting on the Lord to help the elders of our church see the vision for the ladies ministry.
Waiting for physical helaing from fibromyalsia.
I tweeted, pinned and shared on facebook!!
Thank you for the lovely giveaway. I am one of the MOST impatient people in my family .. maybe in the world. My husband and I started a business a couple of years ago, invested in a franchise, and I am just wanting it to take off and soar! 
Waiting … patiently?
I am in a time of change in my life. Both kids are off to college. My husband and I joined a new church and I have a new part time job in addition to my full time job. We are waiting on the Lord to lead us in where he wants us to serve in our new church. I am also waiting for his guidance in my job – change my part time job to full time or keep on doing both. I am not one who usually waits. I typically act first and ask later
Your devotional helped settle my heart some with a new perspective of “waiting” on the Lord. Thank you for the encouragement, and reminder that I am not lost on this part of my journey, but that God has a purpose for this time of “waiting”. Thank You (email signup & FB like)
I’ve been waiting since October to see where God wants me to land after leaving my church home of 12 years. My leaving was God led-He hit me with a brick wall to get my attention as I hadn’t wanted to see His leading earlier when the lesson would have been less painful. And my efforts to find a new church home, a new church family if you will, have left me feeling invisible. But just as God brought a new job opportunity in my life to let me help people hear better after leaving my church because people weren’t being heard, my P31W devotion today tells of the strength that comes when we wait upon God, and follows a letter I received from a church I had visited, asking me to pray about visiting with them about my experience in their church. He is good, all the time, all the time, He is good.
I don’t yet know where I will land, but I know when I wait on Him, I will not be disappointed, rejected, dismissed, or invisible. God loves me.
Anna W.
Facebook post, done!
Twitter post, done!
Pinterest Pin, done!
Anna W.
Waiting Waiting Waiting…when I was in the Navy it was “Hurry up and wait”. I will always remember that saying. But then again, sometimes they say good things come to those who wait!
I pinned it, tweeted, liked you on fb, signed up for emails…everything you said to do to get 5 entries…lol
I am waiting for an answer about homeschooling. I may already have my answer because I almost hyperventilate when I start researching. :p
I shared on Facebook.
Thank you for sharing the Word of God with me this morning. It is encouraging to know that one is not alone. Your words have given me peace. May God continue to bless your ministry.
PS…I have signed up for your e-mails, liked you on FB, and am following you now on Twitter. =)
Blessings!
I am in a waiting situation now. I almost took matters into my own hands, but God stepped
in an gave me guidance. I followed Him. The problems are still here, but I am not sad or
depressed over them. I put it in His hands and in His time. I have a peace over this situation that I haven’t experienced before. It is awesome. Thank you for the words of encouragement when we are waiting.
Life is a waiting game. Just need to keep focus and wait in Christ.
Kathy
I’m in a waiting game & trying not to lose my patience in my Brain healing but God is giving me the strength to make it through each day. I follow you on twitter & facebook. Thanks for the giveaway & Great devotional
I’ve been waiting on restoration in my marriage. It’s coming…slowly, but surely.
I subscribe to your blog via email, like you on Facebook, and follow you on Twitter.
Absolutely love your posts on FB and email they always seem to be just what I need
Thanks for being a blessing.
I have been in God’s waiting room various times in my life. The longest wait was 18 years! My husband and I wanted to have children and finally after 18 years, we welcomed 2 beautiful boys into our home through adoption. That wasn’t my original plan, but it was God’s plan. PTL that He knows best!
I so needed to hear this today. I get into the trap of comparison with others (why is God doing such and such in their life and not mine) kind of stuff.
I’ve commented, tweeted, liked, followed and signed up.
I signed up for daily emails to my email……tlguinnee@mchsi.com and shared you on FB and would like to win …………!!!
and have been waiting ……….after losing my husband ( died in the hospital two years ago) waiting for different things………after his passing and going to heaven but still waiting….. Lynda
I’ve been treading water as I’ve been growing in my faith and reading, reading, reading. I love it but I think it’s become a sort of procrastination as I try to decide how best to serve the Lord. I know I need to start, but where? Your new slant on “waiting” just may be the nudge I need to just “do something.” Blessings!
And yes I’d love to win the giveaway too…I’m connected via facebook, email, pinterest, Let.It.Go. online bible study–loving it!
Would love to win! Thanks.
Waiting is not my strength. I’m waiting on more patience you could say!!
Thanks Karen for the Wait Training devotion that is a needed devotion for me. After waiting so long for healing (10 years) I started just expecting God to get me through each day. I know reading this I must continue to wait and believe for healing because God is an awesome God and he knows what best for me in my “strength training”. He knows what I need to learn. i would love to win this much needed & awesome giveaway. I am already signed up for your emails. I tried to enter my email again & it was confirmed I am signed up. I shared and liked like you on facebook under my facebook email Jesusbelieverforlife@aol. Blessing to you
Great devotional today, thank you. I also signed up for emails and liked on FB.
Great post.
I am already signed up for emails. I liked you on facebook, started following you on twitter, and pinned the giveaway on pinterest.
Waiting is not always easy..and my husband and I are learning to continue to serve God while we wait.
I follow you on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/9359111697882848/
I pinned the giveaway
I liked and shared your post on fb
I have been waiting to hear from God on what He wants me to do in my life. I am 31 years old, and feel like I still have not found my ‘niche,’ my purpose in life. As I see others my age who have found their niche, I keep having the deep desire to find mine.
Thank you for all that you do!
I already am an email subscriber to your blog. I like you on FB. ; )
I posted the blog post & the giveaway on FB and twitter.
I followed you on twitter & Pinterest. I also pinned your book & the giveaway on Pinterest.
Blessings,
Angela
mom2ccj@yahoo.com
FB: anghogan as Angela Hinton Hogan
Twitter: anghogan
Pinterest: athogan
Just what I needed to read today…thanks!
Waiting on God is active, not passive! Great imagery! Every time I think I’ve mastered this concept, a new trial comes along and I struggle with waiting all over again. In sixteen years of marriage and ministry, (the death of our firstborn, infertility, job loss, ministry difficulties, persecution, a house that wouldn’t sell, failed adoptions, betrayals, etc. ) God has proven Himself to be faithful EVERY TIME, and yet I still doubt Him. One thing that has been a help to us is setting up “Ebenezers” as a visible reminder of God’s faithfulness and provision. (1Sam.7:12)
I look forward to digging deeper into this subject with you. I also am looking forward to “meeting” you and hearing you speak at the Hearts at Home conference March 16th!
Also pinned!
Today’s message on waiting is wonderful. Thank you, Karen, for the fresh perspective on that verse, which is one I treasure! Just this week, my 6 year old son asked me “Mama, why do wishes not come true?” He was making a wish that a new Lego set would appear, and wondering why it hadn’t instantly appeared! It led to quite a discussion on patience, but your post got me thinking…isn’t that how many of us feel about our unanswered prayers? We request something of God, and sometimes question His love for us when it doesn’t instantly get answered.
Waiting does not come easy to me or anyone else I know for that matter, but if there is one thing I’ve learned through waiting (and not waiting) it is that when God asks me to wait, it’s not out of a lack of love. It’s about my lack of perspective. Often times, the wait is required to reveal things I need to see. I miss out on important warning signs when I rush ahead of God, putting myself in situations He never intended me to be in. Yet when I choose to trust God and patiently wait on His timing instead of my own, I am blown away by the rewards the I never could have imagined on my own.
Thanks again, Karen – great post!
Wait….be patient and know that I AM GOD!
This is perfect timing for me. I am waiting on several answers from God including family/friends dealing with cancer. A family member whose confused in the choices their making. My sick mother, lost family & so much more. I have a prayer partner & I’m trying to stay strong but Satan knows when & how to hit me. I already recieve your emails. I just followed you on FB, Twitter & Pinterest…Thank you for giving us this opportunity..
This devotional was so timely…. our family is at a crossroad and we are having to do some waiting before making a decision and it is so hard it is almost making me sick!! I also pinned you on pinterest.
I am waiting for the guard around my heart to be removed to that I can love CHRIST like I should so that my love for my husband can be restored. Tough time, so tired… I am terrified of being hurt and I need HIM so much.
Waiting and praying. My daily way of operating.
Karen, this h as been my favourite bible verse for many years. I am 72 years young and have been waiting many years for the healing and reconciliation of my family. The Lord has taught me many valuable lessons in this waiting period, for which I am most grateful and thankful. I am grateful for this waiting period for my faith and trust in my Heavenly Father has grown 10fold. I will always wait on my Lord for His timing is always the best. Thank you for your blog. God Bless. Janie
I am waiting on the Lord to work a miracle in my daughter’s life. First, reconciliation with God and then with me. The waiting has been long and a very positive growth experience for me. I already get your blog e-mails
, I already like you on fb and re-posted this, I follow you on twitter and re-posted this, following you now on Pinterest…..believe that’s all the contest asks for. 
God Bless you, Karen, and have a great weekend!!
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”1Thessalonians 5:18
I am married to a pastor and it seems that we are always waiting for something. Right now we are waiting on the Lord’s direction on moving which is a big step and we depend on God’s leadership. What helps me in waiting for answers is listening to Christian music like the radio station K-Love, and trying to surround myself with positive thinking people. The other day this elderly lady saw that I was deep in thought and said “Don’t let them steal your joy!” That has been ringing in my ears for days now and I know that God send her to encourage me! Isn’t God awesome?!!
Dearest Karen,
My husband and I are waiting. We are waiting on where God is going to place him with his company. We have known since the day before Thanksgiving 2011 (yes, I said 2011) that he would be placed somewhere at the end of January 2013 but he has not yet been assigned. He has worked out of state for over a year. (And I thank God He has made a way for me to travel with Him much of the time). We are also waiting to find out God’s plan for my career path (I am teaching for several universities and waiting on God to see if I should go Full Time with one). We are waiting on God to see if He has children in His plans for us. (Ten year anniversary this summer!) We are waiting. BUT. I try to remember the words of the beautiful John Waller song…”While I’m Waiting” Link below. GOD BLESS ALL YOU WOMEN IN WAITING!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM_ZWbtTlE8
God timing on this one today. Off to like, tweet, and pin now.
I am “waiting” on God to change my husband’s heart, to turn toward faith. He is a shy, personal man, who’s not much for sharing his feelings. He fully supports my faith and the activities I do with my church, Bible studies, retreat weekends, etc., but I pray that he will one day feel the boldness to join me on this spiritual journey!
I am waiting for several answers. This devotion is the lightbulb reminding me to “wait” a little differently.
I’m waiting on healing from depression. I posted on facebook, pinterest and twitter as well. <3 Bless you.
I have been waiting about a certain situation for years, then think, well maybe I’m wrong. I subscribe to your emails. Thanks!
It’s been 2 1/2 years now that my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant. In the midst of waiting for the Lord to let us know if we will be blessed with children of our own, I,too, have gone to numerous baby showers, have heard of people getting pregnant after only trying for a couple of months (my sister got pregnant in the 2 week period her husband was home on leave!), or those who have gotten pregnant that aren’t married. I have cried out to the Lord in the midst of my waiting – literally CRYING my eyes out at times at the seemingly unfairness of it all. The best thing of today’s devotion is that it takes a very familiar Bible passage and changes the emphasis of one word, one word that I never thought to emphasize in that way. Thank you for the insight and sharing your own waiting experiences – it’s just what I needed in this season!
I LOVE this, Karen! I never thought of waiting *on* God, continuing to seek Him and His will as I waited! He IS good and He DOES answer! I waited several months for my “perfect” job…I publish a Christian newspaper and told God that if He wanted me to continue publishing it, He would have to make available a job that was 1. part time enough that I could continue publishing the paper, 2. In town (I have an older vehicle and HATE driving on bad roads) 3. relatively low-stress (I’m a nurse but haven’t worked in a hospital for many years…don’t know if I could keep up with all of the changes), and 4. decent paying.
I prayed about this for several months, not knowing His will but relatively content to wait (by His grace–I am NOT a good *waiter*!)–I’m usually fretting constantly over all of the “what if’s”. Just before Christmas a job that met all of my qualifications (haha) was available…I started near the end of January and LOVE IT! And I love to tell this story, that shows His faithfulness.
THANK YOU for this great post!
Praise God! One of the things I’ve been waiting for was fulfilled this week. A family member, who has been unemployed for more than a year, was hired for a full time job this week. Throughout the long waiting period, I tried to focus on Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” I’m still waiting for that person to become an “active” Christian and I think that’s close to happening! I continue to wait for another family member to accept Jesus as Savior and for several other family members to become “active” Christians too. I’m so thankful for the faithfulness of God and that he doesn’t want one person lost. That gives me great hope!
I love your idea of waiting on God as a maid, etc. during our waiting times. That’s a brilliant and wonderful philosophy.
I just “liked” you on Facebook, and I have been getting your blog via email for a number of months. Blessings to you and your family and Proverbs 31 Ministries!
I already subscribe by email (actually 2x cuz i get proverbs 31, too! today’s devo was great! Thanks!)
I posted your devo to my wall (before I saw this…) and recommended your page (w/o links so I wouldn’t clutter up your page).
I’m waiting on/praying for salvation for my hubby, 28 years. And yes, I am “waiting” on my Lord. Praising and serving Him with every opportunity. And praising Him for His faithfulness.
always waiting waiting for a great relatioinship with my mom , waiting for women friends and mentots the list goes on I get your emails, like you on facebook, started following on twitter and s tarted following you on pintrest as well
I’ve been waiting for about 6 years for a job. I’ve also been waiting for salvation for my immediate family.
Birth of my second son…
Oh, Karen, I just loved your devotion this morning! “Wait Training” – love it! I have been waiting quite a while to quit my full-time job so I can work full-time on my writing & speaking ministry from home. It seems like I have been waiting a lifetime!! I know God’s timing is perfect, but sometimes I wish His timing and my timing were the same!!
I will follow you on Twitter and Facebook! Blessings on you and your family! <
I do not have a Pintrest or twitter account but I can and will post this to facebook today. I am waiting, I have actually heard the message you gave today in a sermon before, several times, but today, as I wait and seem to suffer through the waiting alone more intensely than ever, it finally hit home. God has kept me all of my life, I’ve seen his hand, and in part of his keeping me, he has kept me separated, away from the crowd. He made me different, he called me early. Those things I wanted to cling to he ripped from my hands, those things I needed he placed in my hands but they couldn’t fill the void of what sometimes feels like a solitary life. So in the past year, the waiting for a mate has been almost unbearable. I used to be comfortable in being alone but I approach my mid-thirties and my children get older and are already needing me less, lonliness starts to get loud. Very, very loud and cold. I’m fine during the day, but at night, when I go to sleep alone, I know that I am alone. It used to be that going to bed was a welcome time but now it’s just lonely and now, on the days when my children are at home with their father and not with me the empty house seems louder. I feel more isolated, more alone. I am a seminary student. I am launching my own businesses. Your message today helped me to remember that following God’s plan puts me in position to “wait,” on him. Serve him. Help me the needs of his kingdom. I just have to remember that all I do for him throughout my day will be rewarded as he sees fit, when he sees fit and know that I am not alone. He is by my side and although I feel lonely. I am not.
I am waiting for unanswered prayers for lost family members but I know that God is good and I will wait for him to pick “His ” time to answer my prayers. While I wait, I will continue to praise Him, telling everyone I can about his sweet salvation and promise of a glorious home that awaits us. I know that I serve a faithful God! I have been subscribed to your emails, following on PInterest and pinned this giveaway and liked you on Facebook.
Jennifer Blanton
It is so hard to wait – God’s timing is definitely not mine! And I want to stockpile grace while He only gives sufficient for the day. I certainly need wait training! Shared on Facebook and will find you on Pinterest.
yes…..waiting…..this has seemed like a “thorn in my side” praise Jesus though for what He has taught me during these times. I have been currently waiting to be to conceive for almost 2 years, waiting for a possible move to another state for 3 years and just waiting on Him for what He has for me in general. As my heart longs for these things He showed me how to long for Him instead. He has given me great comfort in my times of intense pain and tears. He has gently lifted my eyes to Him and His glory. All praise be to our Father whom loves us so dearly. I am very grateful for your post today. It continues to encourage me to press on and continue to “wait” upon the Lord. May the Lord bless you and keep you and shine His face upon you!
I started following you on pinterest today!!!
My mom’s favorite saying was “Hurry up and wait.” As a child I could not understand what she meant by that saying but as I became a mother and grandmother I have learned that yes that is what we do. We hurry up and then we wait. And sometimes we wait somemore.
WE just discussed this topic at our women’s bible study on Wednesday. God doesn’t want us to struggle or suffer but sometimes.. it happens! Is the contest open to Canadians as well? just curious.. otherwise – all the best to my american friends!
We have been waiting on our house to sell for almost a year now. We had to move because of a job change and have been paying two house payments while trying to save for our adoption of a little girl from Moldova.
Email subscriber of yours
God bless you for being open to God’s revelation on ‘waiting’ and then your willingness to share it with us. Your emailed devotions have been a blessing to me. A twenty-one year wait for my husband confirmed this revelation to take our eyes off our need and allow Jesus to be our focus. Also Isaiah 40:31 has been my husband’s favorite verse. He has seen eagles throughout his life as God’s confirmation on so many things as he waits, especially in waiting for me as his wife. You have been pinned and I tried to tweet but haven’t got the knack of how that works yet. Thank you!
Fb fan of yours
Pinterest follower of yours
Hurry up and wait – we spend a lot of time waiting – praying makes it more doable
Thanks for the contest.
Thank you so much for this post today!! Just what I needed! This is one of my favorite verses because it reminds me of my nephew who left us too early due to a canoe accident. His death sent me into a downward spiral that has been a long time coming back from. I miss him so much, but this scripture helps soothe my heart! Then you mentioned waiting a long time for a child–oh, how I can relate to this also! When God finally answered this prayer (after 10 years), he sent me the most wonderful child who is a blessing every day! Waiting is hard, but what God sends us after the wait is better than we could ever imagine! Thank you for reminding me of this today!
I am waiting for God to heal our daughter! While waiting, I am basking in the little miracles and blessings along the way! Thank you!
I have been praying for loved ones for a very long time. Sometimes I get so impatient. then I realize that God has a plan and that sometime he has to mold us and break us until we are ready to come to him. I don’t wish hurt on my loved ones but that when that brokenness comes, they will run to him, arms wide open. I keep praying. Love your blog. Keep it up!
This is EXACTLY what I needed today. I feel like I have been waiting on my husband’s job status to become stable for years! I pray, I get mad at him, I get mad at his job, I pray some more…..and on it goes. I desperately want to be able to trust God’s plan for our family, but sometimes it is really hard. “… 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 (ESV) I want to soar and be strong, but I struggle daily. The perspective that you shared in your blog was so helpful. Instead of waiting for God to give us an answer, I need to WAIT on him. Focus on living the life that God wants us to instead of waiting for God to change our circumstances. Thank you so much. I am headed to Facebook and Pinterest right now! I have a feeling some of my friends might need to hear this as well.
What a great give away! Hurry up and wait is something that’s hard to do. I receive your posts via email, and I just followed you on pinterest.
Like many of the women who have written today before me, I am waiting on what might be a miracle. Your message was beautiful as it reminded me that I HAVE become stronger in my faith while waiting. I have focused more on the Lord and while I don’t have my miracle yet, so many other blessings have come my way while I thank Him for what is going to come.
I have taken this opportunity to become a Pinterest follower, a Facebook fan, and to follow you on Twitter. I think I get your emails in my in-box? I know that I received today’s message via Proverbs 31 Ministries, but I think I get your emails separately as well. I’ll check that, but I can’t claim it just yet.
Thank you so very much for your words.
I found you on Proverbs 31 and what a post it was! Waiting? Yes, that would be me…for 13 years…for God to bring a good man into my life. I remind myself that God made this entire universe, so a great date is absolutely possible
Thanks for the encouragement todaythat I needed to keep waiting…
Heidi
I had to chuckle when you said ” God made the universe so a date is possible !” I made the exact same comment 3 days ago to my friend! I’ve been waiting 7 years! I’ll keep you in my prayers! May God bless us both with godly men that love Him with all their hearts someday soon
Stephanie
Thanks Stephanie and I will pray the same!
I love this idea on waiting (like a butler or mail or waitress). It’s hard to keep our eyes on Jesus while in the wait but we all have a moment by moment choice. Thank you for your thoughts and this opportunity
I have subscribed to your blog (through my work email, though – please ask for details) and I follow you on Facebook!
What are you currently waiting on God about? One thing I am waiting on is a full-time job where I am able to do His good works. How long has it been? Seven months. I am thankful for the few hours I get to work for my local Fire Department as an independent contractor, but I need something more permanent with more hours in order to help pay the bills. What do you do while you are waiting that helps to settle your heart and mind? I read His word every day, continue to pray about it, and continue applying for jobs. What do you think about the concept from the devotion of “waiting on God” like a maid or butler or waiter? I liked the sentences you wrote that states, “I have found that to shift my perspective in the waiting times replenishes my strength. Those who “wait on the Lord”—as in serve Him, cater to Him, help Him accomplish His work; those who take His order and bring Him what He wants—they are the ones who renew their strength. I know there is a reason for everything that happens in our life and in order to fully trust God, we have to wait in His timing rather than our own. There is a reason why He doesn’t answer our prayer request right away and waiting can be a good thing if it means living out our life the way He planned for us to live it. I admit I get impatient at times and try to control things myself, but I am learning from reading this book that it is imperative for us to wait for Him to reveal the answer to us. When we choose not to wait on Him, we are not pleasing Him and we are not living the life He has planned out for us to live.
Bonus activities: I responded to this post, I am signed up to get your e-mails, I pinned today’s giveaway, “liked” you on Facebook, and follow you on Twitter. You are one of my favorite bloggers, so I love following you every day. Have a blessed weekend! ?
I’m waiting for prayers to be answered for healing of a loved one and for direction for me. Waiting is hard because I feel like my prayers are useless. I don’t wait to leave my pity party and go help someone else while I’m waiting.
Thanks for this post and giveaway! I have been waiting for 7 years for God to bless me with a boyfriend / husband. I left a relationship to honor God and I hope its Gods will for me to be married someday.
I am waiting to see God’s reason why He felt our car accident was blessed and neccessary.
Enjoyed your devotional and post today. There is a song by John Waller that perfectly aligns with your message. It’s called, oddly enough , While I’m Waiting. Here are the lyrics:
I’m waiting; I’m waiting on You Lord
And I am hopeful; I’m waiting on You Lord
Though it is painful, but patiently I will wait
And I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting I will serve You
While I’m waiting I will worship
While I’m waiting I will not faint
I’ll be running the race even while I wait
I’m waiting; I’m waiting on You Lord
And I am peaceful; I’m waiting on You Lord
Though it’s not easy, no, but faithfully I will wait
Yes, I will wait
And I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting I will serve You
While I’m waiting I will worship
While I’m waiting I will not faint
I’ll be running the race even while I wait
And I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting on You Lord
I often turn to praise and worship music as well as Scripture when I feel my mind start to waver and the doubts press in. Sing it at the top of my lungs sometimes. (I don’t think my neighbors can hear it over their TV & computer games…) I also remember what God has already done for me in the past.
I wasn’t always this grounded. I’ve been in “wait training” before. Trusting Him and serving Him is so much better.
I get your emails, liked you on FB, and am following you on Twitter.
Blessings
Becca
Thanks so much for sharing this song. I had forgotten about it.
How wonderful. Was not familiar with the song. Thanks for sharing. It goes perfectly with the scripture and devotional message.
Waiting is hard. However, God has been answering prayers way beyond what I expect. Would love to pass along this gift to a family member who is in a tough spot. Her life has been hard and now has been turned upside down. Praying that she will see God’s purpose for her.
Thank you for this new perspective on being a “waiter”! I will attempt to adapt this mind-set to serve our Lord. (I’ve had personal practice serving in restaurants in college, helping at receptions and raising four kiddos, plus I watch Downton Abbey…) Love your give-away opportunity and now each time I wash my hands I’ll smile…Blessings from another Mama “waiter in training”.
Just discussed waiting yesterday in a Bible study in Joshua. It took ‘a long time’ for Joshua to drive out the enemies in the Promised Land, but God had told them it would be this way in Exodus 23:29, 30 (which I’d never noticed before). It was for their good and the good of the land they were inheriting!
I subscribe to your posts by e-mail!
I am waiting….
‘Liked’ you on Facebook!
Thanks for the encouragement….we’ve been waiting for 3 years to sell a 2nd home that we bought as an investment, but we all know how wonderful the housing market has been…now we just need it to be sold.
I do subscribe to your email!!
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR OVER ELEVEN YEARS FOR MY SON TO BE
RELEASED FROM THE STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL. THANKS FOR THE NEW
PERSPECTIVE ON WAITING! I WILL TRY TO DO ALL THE EXTRA THINGS FOR
EXTRA ENTRIES, BUT I’M NOT SURE HOW TO GO ABOUT TWEETING?!!
I have been waiting for 3 1/2 years for God to send me a “Boaz” – that’s what I call a godly husband. God has made it very clear that I need to “wait” on Him. Lately, He has called me to “serve” Him in more ways in my church, focus on my youngest daughter’s last year of high school and He ask me to rejoice in His goodness and faithfulness (He is a bigger tipper). Sometimes, I question my ability to discern His will for me. It’s that doubt thing that satan loves to whisper to me. Your devotion today was just the affirmation that I needed. Thank you!
Thank you for doing this! I am waiting too… But some of these stories have humbled me into thinking its not that bad! I would love to win your book because I asked for it for christmas and got the study guide instead. Then all I will need is the videos! Thanks!
Waiting has never been my strong suit. I often forget that we look at things with an earthly perspective, while our Father views it from His omniscient heavenly perspective. My grandmother once gave me a bookmark with this verse on it but as many times as I have read it, I never meditated on it until today’s devotion. Thank you so much for this message.
I subscribe to your blog, retweeted this, shared on FB, and pinned on Pinterest.
I’ve been in a “wait” and loved how you reframe it. A verse that’s blessed me as well is Exodus 2:23a, 25b During that long period (of waiting and silence), God heard their groaning and he remembered…and was concerned about them.
I’m now following you on Pinterest as well! Thanks for the blessings.
Does it count if am already subscribed to posts by email & “liked” on Facebook? Would share on Facebook but don’t know how.
Sometimes think I must be missing something to have to keep waiting (Israelites in the desert). Know God has a plan & He will either heal me or provide a way for to continue on & meet my needs inspite of inability to work. so many things waiting on. this devotional definitely good timing.
Waiting and praying for closer relationships with my adult daughters and both of their husbands. Been waiting a long time. Would sure love to win this package. Thank you.
Blessings to you Karen for allowing the Lord Jesus to speak to so many. I would like to say to Anne to keep waiting as God has something special. My nephew and his wife have been longing for a child for years but recently the Lord has blessed them with an adopted child whom they LOVE with all their hearts. I told them that when people ask “Do you think that you will ever have one of your own?” the best answer is “She IS our own!”
Back to today’s devotion; So timely for so many. You are so right about waiting on God. Giving every concern to Him – fully knowing that He is capable of caring for us! My greatest blessings throughout my life have been those times when I HAD to give my need sometimes desire to God and trust Him. His WORD tells us that without faith it is impossible to please Him… That verse along with many more have given me encouragement and strength to wait for His timing. I actually found and still find that JOY and peace surround me while I wait. So often the answer comes at the most unexpected time and in a way that I would never have thought of. I love it that way because I can ONLY thank God and He receives ALL the credit and glory.j
I pray that this little thought from my heart will be a blessing to many of you today.
Lovingly in Jesus
Barbie
A song we sing gives us encouragement in Wait Training. “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart…. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart…” God works in the difficult, waiting periods of our life. which causes us to rely more on Him and grow stronger in Him.
Thank you for encouraging us on our journey
I am currently waiting on God to show me my purpose. I have been praying for this for a long time. I currently work at a very boring job that does not challenge my mind. I just feel that I have a better purpose than where I am currently at. While I am waiting on this answer, I continue to pray and I continue to do what I am currently doing. I am trying to be patient and faithful knowing that God will show me.
I love the concept of today’s devotion telling us to “”wait on the Lord” – as in serve Him.” I totally agree and love the idea that we “become alert, attentive, and in tune with His wishes.” In stead of thinking God is not listening, we just need to serve Him and we will hear his answers. During this “waiting” we grow closer to God and that is what He wants so much from us.
Hi Karen. I am really hoping to win your Let.It.Go. book. I have been on a journey towards emotional healing for the past several years, and every so often, I wonder, “How long is this going to last?” Healing comes in very small but joyfully received increments. In between, things can get pretty painful as God continues to show me ground that has been given over to the enemy and needs reclaiming. Just last week, I discovered more delusion. Yesterday was another day of discovery. I have discovered the enemy, and it is I! The LORD calls me to learn the unforced rhythms of grace (akin to letting it go). So I continue to engage this process. If God is for me, who can be against me?
PS ~ I shared your devotional from today on my Facebook site.
I’ve been waiting a year for a job. Before my this struggle, my relationship with God was pretty nonexistent. Now, I’m reading the Bible every day, participating in studies, and praying throughout the day. There are days when I’m frustrated and disappointed and then I feel God telling me trust Him. In His perfect timing, I know I’ll have a job. Thank you for your encouragement, Karen.
I am following you via email, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. I tweeted this giveaway.
https://twitter.com/23thirty/status/305042786221182977
Well I liked you on facebook, repinned on pinerest and I signed up for your post via email. Anyway I think waiting on God as a waiter or server is a really good way of looking at the Bible verse. It gives you something to do while you wait. Thanks Karen for this devotion and great giveaway.
This is what I needed to hear….the last 6 years have been a “waiting” for my family and I. Now we are missionaries in Jamaica and we have a lot more waiting to do!
I really think we will always be “waiting” on God….this is the time when He can use us for His Purpose and Glory!!
Actively waiting is a new approach to me, but it sounds good to me. There is much up in the air right now. I told my husband that I feel like we’re stuck waiting to see which ball in our life is going to drop first.
I’m going to share this on facebook
Such a comforting and fitting devotion as I started my day. 2 weeks of waiting and wonder of cancer. With all of the worries and fears that were in my mind, reminding myself that God is in control, today was a day that I started with peace as I waited for the Lord. Waited to have my strength renewed. Waited as I heard the word, “negative”. Thankful for the “wait”.
Thank you for the awesome message once again!! I am waiting on Gods answer about my parents moving close to us. We all desire it to happen, but the circumstances have not worked out as of yet. Gods time, not ours. We will keep praying and trusting!! Started praying abput this in 2005, so I’m continuing to TRUST in HIM!!
I forgot to add:
1. I’m already subscribed to your blog.
2. I followed several of your boards on Pinterest.
3. I liked you on Facebook. Don’t know why I hadn’t earlier.
4. I already follow you on Twitter. @MamaOmuss
After a frighteningly violent fist marriage, I waited 14 1/2 years before I married again. I wanted to make sure the man was God’s choice and not just mine. It was hard, but well worth it. Waiting isn’t always fun but it is worth the time and effort. Use that time to learn and grow.
I liked you on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/pin/192951165257323846/
I pinned this giveaway at http://pinterest.com/pin/192951165257323628/
I tweeted it at https://twitter.com/SimplAdditions/status/305041450742214657
I already get your posts at trishafreitag@gmail.com
I like you on Facebook at Trisha Smothers Freitag
Thanks for the great giveaway!!
Wow! This really resonated with me today. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve subscribed to your blog.
I liked you on facebook.
I am following you on Pinterest
Would love to win! Great giveaway!
I’m an email subscriber!
Thank you for your writing today on Proverbs 31 Ministries. I’m a new grad Nurse and have my nursing license and have been applying for jobs for the past month with no luck. I haven’t even had an interview with anyone. It’s very discouraging and I’m trying to be patient and wait and trust in God’s timing. It’s hard to wrap your head around sometimes especially when there are so many thing that depend on one thing, like with me and this job hunt.
Love your work. I’m following you on Pinterest ,daily emails and Facebook
I love the image of being a waiter or butler instead of an impatient watcher. I love to picture myself as the Lord’s handmaiden.
Thank you for the thought provoking insight!
Waiting to have a much better marital situation than I currently do. My husband has always prioritized himself and his job over me and that has extended now to our daughter – barely sees her. He has no respect for me as a wife or mother – I’m more of a roommate. I’ve tried to lead by example, but honestly I’m tired. Tired of being told what I could do better, how things “should be done”, etc. to make matters worse, I really do not want my daughter to be an only child. My husband won’t even discuss having another child . I’m tired of being angry about it all. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, these are not big problems and to others they may not appear to be problems at all. I know a great deal of this is stuff I have brought upon myself and I just feel stuck. So I wait.
“Wait Training” Everyone has been a season of waiting. I am praying my children, esp. one will decide to follow God and become a Believer in Christ.
Thanks!
What a great giveaway. So many fantastic items!
I am an email subscriber!
Pinned, tweeted and already on FB and a subscriber..When I am waiting I keep busy…I have been waiting for years for our son and daughter inn love to be saved…among other things.
Thank you for your faithfulness to teach God’s Word and encourage the women who read your devotions!
Hi! This is me commenting for 1 entry. Just finished your Let. It. Go. study with a groups of GFs and we loved it!
Thanks for the devotional!! I now “like” you on Facebook, follow you on twitter and Pinterest. Thanks for the giveaway!!
I subscribe to your posts via email. (A little sunshine in my work inbox; thank you!)
Pinned the giveaway on Pinterest.
http://pinterest.com/pin/82542605642617704/
FOUR entries for liking you on Fb?! Woohoo! I’m IN!
Waiting for change. In myself and everyone around me.
I subscribe to your e-mail.
Follow on Pinterest
Like you on Facebook. Would love to win!!
Loved the Proverbs 31 post today. I get them by email and facebook. I’ve liked you on fb and will follow you on Pineherst. Thank you for offering these giveaways. Brenda
Thanks for the giveaway..and your encouraging words…have a blessed weekend!
I subscribe by email Karen…thanks
What a wonderful reminder in our society of “now”! Have a blessed weekend!
My sister-in-law shared this website with me just a couple of days ago. That day and todays devotional really spoke to me. I have been desperately “waiting” on God, for the past year, to save my marriage. Things don’t look good at this point, but any thing is possible with God, and so I continue to wait. I will try to “wait” on the Lord in a new light and trust in his timing.
I forgot to mention that I subscribe via email.
I am waiting on God to help build/restore a relationship with my 12 year old adopted daughter. I pray and wait because as I am learning from your book, LET it go, I can’t control it all. Thanks for your encouraging words! Blessings to you and yours!
I am a terrible waiter!! I want things right away, or at least within a reasonable amount of time! my time, of course! I am waiting on some friends I am praying for – for God to move in their lives and give them the desires of their heart! I have one friend in particular that I have been praying for to be able to conceive a child. I have prayed this same prayer for my son and his wife, and they just recently had their first baby! Now, the waiting continues. Thank you for speaking God’s word and truth in a way that makes sense to so many and helps us to learn to continue to wait!!
I am waiting for God while my kids are away at college to guide me in the next phase of my life as I explore my options after being a stay-at-home mom. Wonderful give-away! Thank you!
I see no point in facebooking, and think it can lead to wickedness.
Thank you for this post. I am waiting on The Lord for so many things….for Him to take my daddy with Alzheimer’s to heaven to be with Mama, for my husband to come back to Him, for my teenage son’s healing and trust in Him after a childhood trauma, and for Him to come get us. I struggle with so many failings of Him and know that’s where I’ll finally be fixed. Thank you for the inspiration to keep waiting, knowing I’m not alone on this hard, long road. You don’t know how much it helped me today.
Thank you for such a great giveaway. I filled many journal pages during a waiting period of my life. I love to go back and read how God was working and growing me then.
I subscribe to your blog via email. Following on pinterest and twitter.
Great message today. I have always struggled with waiting on God. I didn’t trust Him, or anyone for that matter. I had been hurt often and learned that I could only rely on myself to make things happen. I have now traveled far enough on my healing journey to trust God with my life (at least most of the time). So now I am waiting. I know he has plans for my life. Plans to take my scars and turn them into something beautiful and that excites me but for once in my life I am content to wait for him to show my how an when instead of rushing in ahead and making things happen myself.
Liked on FB, Pinned and signed up for your emails.
If anyone is interested, I recently received a copy of the Mission Study Bible and it is great! Since I already have one, I am not entering the contest, but I encourage anyone else to do so.
Waiting has been the story of my life. Waiting till I was 30 to meet my husband, waiting to get pregnant (never happened) and then waiting to adopt our daughter. Waiting for houses to sell and most recently waiting for my husband to find a job after being forced into early retirement 2 years ago. That waiting ended today Praise God!!! The one thing I have learned from my waiting is that God has always been faithful to provide what I need when I needed it. And that when I have not waited on His perfect timing I have missed a huge blessing by settleing for second best. I have learned that waiting tmay be hard but well worth
the effort. (Sorry I hit post by mistake) now I finished.
While I’d love to win the giveaway, I have to say that this devotion was right on track with what I needed to read today. I love how God seems to do that.
Thank you.
I love this devotion! I already subscribed here, but I added Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you!
I am a newbie – found your blog today from the Proverbs 31 Devotion – I also signed up for your emails, liked your facebook page, following you on Pinterest, and shared this giveaway on facebook. Would love to win, thanks!
Today’s devotion was just what I needed today – I love God’s timing! I love this verse, but I’ve never heard it broken down like you did, makes more sense to me now, thanks for that! Waiting on the Lord has been difficult for me, my flesh is weak and I want an answer now. I would like prayer on where God wants me to live, our landlord wants to sell our home, and it’s impossible to find a rental in my son’s school district that I can afford. Thank-you very much!
I read the proverbs 31 devotional today and it was just what I needed. I’ve been and will continue to pray for my daughter to surrender to the Lord. I’m praying for her to know Gods love, grace, forgiveness, acceptance, etc. it’s been a few years but I am sure I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living
thank you for this devotional. I needed the encouragement. It gets hard and lonely sometimes praying for a prodigal.
Wow!
Thank you Karen. I have been so very very low lately, to the past the point of tears, and onto the Pastor’s appointment calendar. Thank you ever so much for your timely message.I look forward to putting your suggestions into action as I “wait” on the Lord.
PS: I would love to be blessed recipient of the gift, God knows I could use it!
Blessings,
Loretta
I’m new to learning the Bible and crave to learn more about making the Lord a part of my life. I have liked your website and enjoy your your devotions each day.
Thanks for the new perspective on ‘waiting’ on God. STILL pondering this one…
(and just because you said to, I’ve tweeted, pinned, shared on facebook, followed on Pinterest and I think everything else you asked about. I THINK I still get the emails – not sure if I stopped those when I added your blog to my Google Reader. lol)
God bless!
Waiting on the salvation of a loved one.
This last year has been a difficult one. Two of my good friends that live three hours away from me have gotten engaged, I will be a bridesmaid for them in April. This will be the 10th wedding I’ve been in. Two of my roommates have recently started dating as well and are likely to married before the end of the year. I am waiting on God’s timing and on His perfect plan for my life.
I followed you on FB and Pinterest and also signed up for emails.
I am waiting for my prayer to be answered, the reconciliation between my brother (he is a Jesus follower) and his son (and the prayer of his salvation). Thank you, Lord.
Karen, thank you for this devotion and I do receive your emails. I have also purchased Let.It.Go., and it has ministered to me. Would love to share with a friend.
Blessings!
Face book and email.
I am waiting for a move that will happen in about 6 months, Lord willing. I have waited 25 years what’s another 5 or 6 months. I have a great prayer and support team and that is how HE lifts me up. I’d love the book and Journal. I have about 15 or more journals that chronicle the years of waiting on God.
He is strong in my weakness.
I feel a conflict. I am definitely waiting…in a LOT of areas. BUt in many others that are more spiritual disciplines I feel like God is asking me to step forward. It is an interesting thing, but I do think they are closely linked together.
(I do get your emails and follow you on pinterest too)
I am waiting for God to answer to help me with my teenage son…I am single mom with 2 teens and the oldest is my son…he has no father figure except for the men at church who have good intentions but don’t follow through all the time with him. I just pray that he makes good choices and buckles down with junior year school work so he can get scholarships to college.
I follow you Pinterest as Sherri Sav and pinned the giveaway
http://pinterest.com/pin/179721841351977204/
I like you on Facebook as Sherri Sav
I follow you via email.
I follow you via Twitter as @savvyblog1 and tweeted message
https://twitter.com/savvyblog1/status/305175187786194944
Great discussion today. I have been going thru this myself and just stumbled upon your devo on P31. It has been so inspiring just to read all the comments and see that I am not in my boat alone. So many are going thru the same thing I am. I am waiting for God to become real to my husband of 15 years. God is so good to me as just when I think I can’t stay another minute, He sends me a ray of hope…it may be something soo tiny, but something, enough to get me thru a little while longer. The verse you mentioned is actually a song we used to sing at a church I attended when I was younger. I have sang that song hundreds of times…but never thought about it the way you mentioned it today. Sometimes we just need a new perspective…and this may be just what I needed. I liked you on facebook and signed up for your emails….
You when God is trying to tell you something He usually tells you in more than one way.I waiting for healing from Fibromyalgia for ten year and bi polar,to have a job as a teacher,to financially free of my parents’ help,to free from oppression/fear/abuse in any form,for my family to be restored and for my 15 yr old daughter to be healed of bipolar and come out of her depression and self destructive path and 12 yr old son to be healed from his behavior disorders and to know they have truely found salvation in the Lord.All this has me just sitting and worrying and fearing for my and my kids’ future and health.My daughter was hospitalized in Sept and kept making self destructive decisions so I stepped down from my position in the Children’s Ministry to focus on my family.Well I think I need to wait on the Lord by serving Him again in the Children’s ministry and trust He is in control and will work everything out for our good.I lost my hope but I am trying to hope again.
I’ve been waiting on God for a job. it’s been a learning process I’ve had to learn to depend on God for everything.
Absolutely beautiful words of inspiration today; thank you!! I struggle with waiting well sometimes, when life doesn’t make sense. God is teaching me all about trust, and this devotional was such an encouragement! And btw, I shared you’re post, pinned it, and subscribed!
Many years ago I learned a valuable lesson from the Lord about “waiting”. My daughter refused to speak to me or see me for about two years. Within the first weeks as I cried out to the Lord in my despair, I began to pray the rosary and attend daily mass…as I allowed Jesus to take my anguish from me, I continued to learn “how to pray”, which was the most basic prayer of all…”thy will be done”. The waiting became a precious gift as I waited with the Lord and as you so beautifully stated I waited on the Lord. Recent events have once again turned my daughter away. It has been over a year since I have been allowed to see my granddaughter and once again I am praying patiently but this time it has presented me with more challenges.
Got so emotional forgot to add that I will look forward to your blogs via email sign up. Thanks for supporting the faith and hope of all who are waiting…
I am disabled and finally after a 2 year waiting period got my medicare. That’s great but medicare takes money from my already too small disability check which means there is one bill now that i can’t pay each month. I totally qualify for financial help but i have to jump through all the proper hoops to get it and of course that takes time and i have to wait and wait and wait. So i am waiting on the Lord to watch over me and supply my needs until this is all straightened around which can take up to 3 months. So i’m waiting. But on the praise side of things the Lord helped me win a copy of LET IT GO so i could do the bible study and before that He worked miracles and got me on disability in 9 months time instead of the usual 2 years i was warned it would take. So i am finding with the Lord the wait is always worth it and a lot of times the wait has been shorter when i just give into the Lord and let Him handle it in the first place.
Karen i found you on Facebook and liked you and i pinned the give-away to my Wishlist on Pinterest. Thanks for all you do for us girls! Have a good weekend!
I prayed that the Lord would give me patience, and He gave me a husband, children, and a lot of periods of waiting! Not exactly what I had in mind, but He is faithful!
I am an e-mail subscriber.
Our family is waiting to see if our business will profit or not this year. And if it doesn’t, what direction is the Lord desiring for us. I like the thought of serving God wholehearted in the business while waiting for His direction.
Our family is waiting to see if our business will profit or not this year. And if it doesn’t, what direction is the Lord desiring for us. I like the thought of serving God wholehearted in the business while waiting for His direction.
I receive your emails.
This has been a verse I have leaned on for many years, however, I now see it in a new light.
I have always seen Isaiah 40:31 as if I serve Him, then He will strengthen me. I hadn’t thought about how my waiting, as your weight lifting analogy serves to strengthen my faith and my trust in Him. Thank so much for sharing this insight that the Lord has revealed to you.
Karen, I’m just now getting to read this. Wish I’d have been able to enter on time, but we were sick with the stomach flu yesterday.
I’m an email subscriber.
Waiting can be sooo hard, but I have learned that it is God’s classroom. I just have to be willing and ready to learn the lesson and do the homework.
WAIT. The 4 letter word that we all struggle with. No denying that. I have been in God’s waiting room with NF for 29 years now. How faithful he has been . I would love to win this. Thanks for sharing and your words of wisdom. I’m on your email list
Thank you so much for reminding me that just as we are to strengthen our bodies with exercise, the Lord also strengthens our spirit and faith in waiting. I’m currently in a season of intense “Wait Training” as I wait for God to fulfill His promise of marriage restoration. Thank you for your encouragement. I’m loving being part of the Proverbs31 online study of your fabulous Let.It.Go book! I’m now following you on Pinterest, liked you on Facebook, and signed up for your emails. Thank you for sharing your faith and encouraging us to strengthen our spiritual muscles!
After finishing treatments and reconsturction for breast cancer Ive felt a little lost. God is shown me how to slow down during this time and I admit waiting is not a strength of mine. I love the persepective in this devotion. For now, I wait for His direction and press forward learning as I go.
Well I use to wait on being a mom now I think I am waiting on what mission field God will send me too. I have learned to be patient but most of all I have learned to listen. I already follow you on FB and I already follow you on twitter. I am also looking forward to see you at the Hearts of Home conference. couple weeks
Patience is definately not my strong suit. Thanks for understanding.
To grow old with my husband ..
I am waiting for God to reveal his plan for my life. I know that I am on this journey of being a widow for a reason. In the meantime, I am studying God’s Word and working on keeping my family together by trusting and believing God.
Love and blessings to you all.
WAIT A MINUTE…didn’t I just see you today?Yes I did in Longview TX at Feminar.
I am a fan now and plan to friend you on FB(after I figure out this fast from FB thing).
I loved the whole event, fantastic worship and truth spoken over us. Thanks so much for your time and obedience to teach an admonish us.
Thank you for sharing today’s devotional. I needed it. I would love to win the giveaway and follow you on Facebook, twitter and pinterest. Have a blessed day.
Great blog post. Thank you for that. I would love to read your book.
My husband and I are in a time of waiting- and we are trying to keep the faith, be strong, and specifically to serve God while we are in this holding pattern. Thanks for the encouragement.
Thanks for this devotion and the encouragement. My husband and I just moved back to Concord NC to take a church. We were in TN helping out at a church where my husband was the Connections Pastor. My husband is now lead pastor. We are just ready to start seeing God grow this church and let the community know that we love them and are here for them. This is a hard spot to be in because you want it to happen so fast, but at the same time we want to grow not swell. Please pray for us as we take on this challenge. I know that God will take care of us.
We have experienced this before with our son. We prayed for almost 4 years to have a child. We just could not get pregnant. The doctors told us that they could not find a reason as to why we could not get pregnant. It was a rough time for us. We were let down each month. But through it all we continued to pray and seek what the Lord would have us do. Did we almost give up…yes, did we get discouraged….yes, but if we had given up we would not have our son today. Almost two years ago we crossed paths with a guy I worked with who’s stepdaughter was pregnant. To make a very long story short, she asked us to adopt her baby boy. We got to go to every doctor’s appointment and was in the delivery room when he was born. I felt like I had given birth to him, except physically going through it. So you are going through something…you may have to wait a little longer, hear some no’s…but there is always a “Greater Yes”. God took us through this trial…to make us stronger in our faith. So i know that God will take care of us through this new transition in our lives.
Oh and I get your emails. Sorry, I got so into what I was trying to post that I forgot to put that on there. Thanks!!
Ok so I have also done the Bonus Entries: Followed you on Pinterest, Liked you on Facebook, and now following you on Twitter!!
I’m doing the Let. It. Go. obs and love it! I’m also going to go hunt you down on Facebook and like you.
I just found your blog today from Proverbs 31 and I love it! I have been trying so hard to learn how to wait and how to achieve patience as I feel like I have almost none
I am now following you by email, Facebook, and Pinterest and even though I am in my twenties, I’m one of the rare ones who does not have Twitter. I’m looking forward to seeing your positive posts on Facebook!
Beautiful devotional….
Love your devotional. It gave me a new perspective. I already receive your emails.
Waiting…it seems that is life. We waited ten years for children. Now we are waiting for our two adopted children to return to the Lord and live saved, sanctified servant lives for God and His glory. I have been waiting thirty years to see my dad and my siblings come to know the Lord. I feel that I must be doing something wrong for them to still not desire to know my Lord. I am waiting for my husband to surrender his life to the Lord and walk with Him, not just talk about it now and then. Two of our grandchildren live with us and our three-year-old so wants Papa to come to church with us. I am waiting to be reunited with our two children in heaven. Finally, I am waiting to be fully sanctified when I see my Lord.
Hi, Thank you so much to all of you at Proverbs31. Most of your devotionals are always right on when I need them. This one…, well, I was wondering whether I should be taking certain steps towards talking to someone I know about a very delicate issue or should I wait and the answer was straight from your message. It is hard to wait for God to move as you feel as if you always need to move to action. I must say that I had never thought about the play in the word “wait”, but I think it is spot on the way we need to view the waiting on God in the meantime, while we let Him do the work.
Just read my proverbs 31 devotional and loved your devotional…so I looked you up and would love to receive your emails! Looking forward to more encouragment to get through everyday life.
I also found you through proverbs 31.org. Great message!
We are considering using your LET IT GO for a Brief Bible Study, and getting this package would be a great way for us to review the book. Thanks for the message- i sure need a reminder- daily
I see how God is growing me to be steadfast in Him in the waiting period. The more I seek Him, the more I’m growing and want my life to be a living testament for Him. Thank you for the opportunity to win such a wonderful prize pack.
Thank you for this post.
I subscribed to your mailing list and liked you on facebook.
Waiting is tough. Thank you for the encouragement.
Thank you so much for sharing your heart and your own struggles with the “what ifs”. I have a HUGE what if problem. Even though I have read or hear Isaiah 40:31 countless times, this devotional was the first time that I have read it this way. I NEEDED to be able to reframe the waiting. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, waiting is hard, thanks for the giveaway, it sounds great1
Thank you for this devotional. I have been looking for a new job and have put in many applications. I was just saying this morning “I guess I am never going to get a new job.” Then when I read what you said about “waiting”, I knew then that I had to be patient God is setting up a job that is just for me. Thanks for the giveaway, I did all the bonus activities.
Hi Karen thank you for your post it could not have come at a better time in my life , I am going to be a young 56 here pretty quick in a couple of weeks , I am unemployed and at this time in my life I just have been struggling these past couple of yrs , I thought to myself why the other day , and God is teaching me total Trust on Him and to be dependent upon Him He has something better for me in my life . Without the income coming in the bills are being stacked up with no way to pay , God has been faithful to show me there is HOPE I am in the waiting and I am waiting to see what He is going to do .
Do not like be in the waiting room it seems I have been there for a while now but so thankful He is right there with me.
BTW I shared on Twitter and Facebook
Your giveaways are fab and devotionals are anointed. Learning to trust in The Lord so that we can wait upon Him is key. It’s so nice to pray, and while I rest as I am reading God’s word and going about my day, knowing that He is out there working on my behalf is well…PEACE. THANK YOU.
Shoot, I read the 31 devotion Friday, though I missed this until today when I saw the FB update. The biggest thing I’m waiting on currently is that my husband works for the National Park Service, so the ‘sequester,’ as it is called, will be impacting our lives. My family realizes that we are in the minority of those being impacted, and budget cuts at the federal level are necessary. We know his job will not be cut, and we are extremely grateful for that. We just don’t know if he will get a furlough, reduced hours, no more Sunday premium pay, or if his supervisors will take the major part of the furlough to save my husband’s income. We have to wait for the ‘upper management’ to do their jobs first.
About 2 years ago my husband and I felt God calling us to leave the Church we were ministering in (he was the associate pastor) we were unsure of what God wanted us to do but knew we were to leave a place we had grown comfortable in. We prayed and waited for a year and a half and were faithful to trust in God for his path for our lives. Waiting was hard, we sometimes wondered if we had done the right thing. Well God has shown us what we were to do and my husband is now the pastor of a Church in a very rural community. So thankful for the many things I learned while waiting.
I also did the following:
- I like you on Facebook and shared there too. (Tania Clark Scott)
- I am a follower on Twitter and tweeted. https://twitter.com/TaniaScott/status/306056086509740032
- I am already a subscriber of your posts via email.
- Following you on Pinterest and Pinned this post http://pinterest.com/pin/27162403974811481/
Thank you for such wonderful and timely giveaways!
Hi Karen. I know how hard it us to wait upon answers from God to our prayers. I pray daily for him to ease my loneliness and heal me in every area of my life. The thing I am being shown is that it is in God’s timing that he heals. I have not had the easiest life at times but I am learning that God never abandoned me and the pain I have experienced will be for good someday. I am going to keep praying fervently and ceaselessly to an awesome God who loves me more than I can ever fathom!
Thank you,
Lisa K.
I pinned you on Pinterest and also shared your link on Facebook.
I saw you at Feminar this past weekend. You were very encouraging. I’m in a heavy waiting period right now & your words touched my very core. Thank you!
I signed up for your emails, liked & shared on fb.
Hi,
I am a newer Christian and have been reading, printing, and listening to everything I can. I would love to learn more on “waiting”. I stink at that!
Thanks so much!
Karen
I have been waiting for something for over 3 years. “Waiting on” God is a really unique way to think about how we should spend our time. Thanks.
I’ve been waiting on Him to work in the lives of two family members who can’t get along.
I signed up for your posts via email.
I already follow you on Pinterest (but couldn’t see how to pin this offer there).
I have liked you on FB.
I tweeted about the giveaway.
I’m waiting to have May be here so my husband will be home… and he doesn’t even leave until March =)
…. …. …. (sigh)…. ….. …. …. yea, that’s just the way some days go… …… … … … …
I love your writing and am currently involved in the Let It Go online book study. Your devotionals, tweets and book bless me everyday. I’m waiting to hurry up and wait or at least that is the way it seems.
My husband & I have been waiting for his healing to be manifested for over 5 years. It has been challenging many times. Even as I type this, he is in the hospital. God increases my faith. I would appreciate everyone’s prayers -,not just for Dave, my husband, but for my mom, who is under hospice care, my dad-whose health is also failing (just got out of the hospital last Monday), my sister – our parents live with her &her family, and for me. While I stayed @the hospital with my dad, I got bronchitis, sinus infection & infection in both ears.
I’ve always heard when the attack is this heavy, God is about to do something amazing,
Bring it on, God!
I’ve been working on this giveaway over several hours, but I’m pretty sure I’ve posted it on FB, Twitter, pinned it, & liked Karen’s page.
Blessings to all,
Edwina
I ‘m so great at “waiting for” and was stopped short when I saw your post on Facebook and introduced to the concept of “waiting on”. In boarding school I waited for my missionary parents to take me back home with them. As a single woman I have waited for my knight…. I’ve waited for the perfect job, the perfect church, the perfect friend, the perfect…. Love the reframing to waiting on my Lord!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
My husband and I have been waiting to hear about a job opportunity that would move our family six hours away. This process has not been easy, but I so greatly appreciate the encouragement today. Thank you!!
I just signed up for your emails, follow on Twitter and “like” you on Facebook
Thank you for this blog and for your words of wisdom! I’m so encouraged to know that there are resources, tools, and ultimately a loving Savior to help me learn how to wait. I was so uplifted as well when you mentioned waiting for a pregnancy. That is what I am waiting for right now, and it has been one of the most challenging things to go through, but I don’t want to be weak through this. I want to be strong and my goal is to to be so through this struggle.
I valued this perspective on waiting….I have never read that verse in this way. Too many times the yuck of life happens, you know God answers, provides, is in it, through it and beyond the trial, yet its not always during that i give Him the focus….its usually after its over. The fear sets in the “during” and my focus becomes how I want things to be handled, not how God is already there and pointing myself and others toward Him. Thank you for your message!
Definitely need wait training. It is so hard sometimes!
WOW! This is just the thing I prayed about today. For God to guide me in letting go and stop trying to control everything. Would be so blessed to win this! If I don’t then I am still runnning out to purchase. I need help in “Letting Go and Letting God!”