S6 EP15 | Waiting May Be Hard - But It’s Productive in The Hands of God.
Waiting is hard. And sometimes we think waiting is useless. Pointless. A waste.
But God uses our waiting to produce good things in us. Waiting is productive in our sanctification process to grow. He uses waiting to prepare us to where he wants to take us next.
Be encouraged in your waiting as you listen to this episode.
The Productive Nature of Waiting:
Waiting is a challenging but productive season in life.
It refines, builds resilience, fosters gratitude, and transforms us.
Isaiah 40:31 - "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength."
James 5:7 - Farmers patiently wait for their crops, understanding the value of waiting.
Waiting is not futile; it's where strength and growth occur.
Caterpillars in cocoons symbolize waiting leading to transformation.
God's Goodness in Waiting:
Lamentations 3:25 - "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him."
Waiting demonstrates trust in God's perfect timing.
God has more than good intentions; He has a divine purpose.
Waiting is a crucial part of bearing fruit for the kingdom.
Affirming Truth
I will wait with joyful anticipation
Joy in waiting is based on who you are waiting for, not your circumstances.
God's timing is perfect, and your rescue will come at the right moment. Embrace the hope and joy that come with waiting for His divine plan to unfold.
Habakkuk 2:3 - "For still the vision awaits its appointed time. It will surely come. It will not delay."
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TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla: Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:00:30] Carla: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truth. I am your host, Carla Arges, and I am so glad you're here with me today. We are going to talk about waiting, and I was originally going to do this just as a bonus episode, but I really want to bring an affirming truth to this.
[00:00:57] Carla: I know that so many of you are [00:01:00] in a season of waiting, and maybe you're losing hope. Maybe you're frustrated. Maybe it feels like God isn't listening to you. Um, you know. I had a season of waiting the other day, trying to get home from San Antonio, and I had flight delay after flight delay after flight delay, and in that period of waiting, I would normally have gotten.
[00:01:31] Carla: frustrated. My anxiety would have gone up as I just anxiously wanted to get back home to my boys. Um, I would have felt like it was useless. I would have been restless, but it just so happened on that day, that morning going through my Bible study and lamentations, I saw This verse on waiting, and I was really reflective of how [00:02:00]God doesn't waste waiting, even the waiting.
[00:02:03] Carla: In our rescue, when we're waiting for God to move, when we're waiting for rescue. And, um, it just really gave me a new perspective going into this waiting on plane delays. And I know that may seem like a silly example, but if you've been delayed in the airport, you know that waiting is rough. But I know some of you guys are waiting for something.
[00:02:31] Carla: Much more important than your flight home. Maybe you're waiting for healing. Maybe you're waiting for restoration in your marriage. Maybe you're waiting to start feeling better after a long battle with mental health. Maybe you are struggling through mental illness and you just don't know how to get stable and you're waiting for the right answers.
[00:02:56] Carla: Maybe you have a wayward child that you're just waiting to come [00:03:00] home to Jesus. That waiting can be so hard. Maybe you're waiting for rescue from a financial hardship, from a job loss, and it seems like rescue isn't coming. I just want to encourage you today that waiting is productive. Waiting is not useless.
[00:03:24] Carla: God uses waiting. To refine us, to grow us in resilience and in perseverance, to grow us in gratitude and thankfulness, to make us more like Him. God uses waiting to prepare us for where He's calling us to next. Waiting in the kingdom world is productive and it's necessary. We read in Isaiah 40, 31, But they who wait [00:04:00] for the Lord shall renew their strength.
[00:04:03] Carla: They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They should run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Waiting on the Lord, it gives us strength. It teaches us to depend on Him. It allows the Holy Spirit to do a work in us. Waiting is productive. Waiting is productive. I like this verse in James 5, 7.
[00:04:32] Carla: Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and late. Reins. If you have a farming background, you know that there's waiting. From the time you plant the seed until you get the crop, there's waiting.
[00:04:59] Carla: Now the farmer [00:05:00] knows that that waiting is not futile. He knows that that waiting is actually necessary to bring about the fruit. Fruit, because what's happening underground in the seed is roots are being formed. What happens when the bud goes up is that it's getting stronger. The growth and the strength that's required for that plant to produce fruit is happening in that season of waiting.
[00:05:28] Carla: That waiting is productive. I think of a caterpillar when it goes into its cocoon. It doesn't just become a butterfly right away. It has to wait. And in that waiting. The cocoon, the, the Caterpillar isn't sleeping, it's being transformed into something beautiful. Guys, God uses waiting for your benefit. And so I really want to encourage you [00:06:00] to start shifting your perspective.
[00:06:03] Carla: How can you show God your gratitude for the waiting? How can you switch your eyes? From the discomfort of the waiting and get excited about what's being produced in you. How can you in the waiting, knowing that something is being refined in you more willingly partner with the Holy Spirit so that work can be done in you.
[00:06:35] Carla: How can you become an active participant with God in your waiting? That's what I want you to look at. Waiting is not bad, waiting is holy. In Lamentations 3. 25, and this is the verse that got me that morning, The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, [00:07:00] to the soul who seeks Him. Guys, the Lord is good to those who wait.
[00:07:07] Carla: Stop trying to do it your own way. Stop trying to do it in your own strength. Stop trying to do it in your own timing and wait for God to move. His timing is perfect. He knows what's best for you. He only, he doesn't just have good intentions for you. We can all have good intentions that don't turn out.
[00:07:33] Carla: God has more than good intentions, He has good purpose, He has good plans, He has good implementation, He has good timing, not just good, but perfect. Waiting is not fruitless. But it is the necessary time period required to bear much fruit for the kingdom. I want to leave you with this affirming [00:08:00] truth, that I will wait with joyful anticipation.
[00:08:08] Carla: Oh, I know. The waiting season is hard. It can be hard to think, how can I be joyful in this waiting? It's painful. How can I be joyful in this trial? It's hard because your joy, my friend is not based on your circumstance that you're waiting in. It's based on who you are waiting on. It is based on the fact that everything you need was accomplished at Calvary.
[00:08:34] Carla: And your waiting has a victorious, guaranteed end. So you can be joyful in eager anticipation for what God is doing in your season of waiting. And I want to take you to Habakkuk 2, 3. For still the vision awaits its appointed time. It hastens to the end. It will not [00:09:00] lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come.
[00:09:06] Carla: It will not delay. God is not late. Your timing of rescue will come. At the perfect timing. And in the meantime, the waiting is working out something beautiful in your life. And I want you to hold on to that hope, friend. I also want to draw your attention to something quickly. What I've done just here, and what I often do in the podcast, is a topical Bible study, really.
[00:09:41] Carla: Today we're talking about waiting, and I use scriptures based on waiting. I studied scriptures based on waiting to get to know God's heart behind waiting. That is topical Bible study. And that is one of the methods that we're going to talk about in the Bible [00:10:00] study course. So if you are not already on the waitlist, get on the waitlist.
[00:10:05] Carla: That means you'll be first to enroll and you'll be getting a discount that only people on the waitlist will get. So the waitlist link is in the show notes. Make sure to enroll. And in the meantime, guys, where you are waiting, where it feels hopeless. Remember Habakkuk 2. 3, it will surely come. It will not delay.
[00:10:31] Carla: There is fruit in the waiting, friend. Find the joy in it. I'll talk to you next time.
[00:10:43] Carla: Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at Affirming Truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye, friends.[00:11:00]