Waiting with Hope
By Whitney Hopler
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – Romans 8:25 NIV
One day when my daughter Honor and I were rushing through a store, we weren’t paying attention to where we were walking and ended up getting our shoes stuck in something. We looked down and saw that we had stepped into the middle of a gray, gooey substance where floor tiles had been removed. The substance held our shoes down, so we couldn’t walk any farther. We were literally stuck. Although we had been in a hurry – in such a hurry that we hadn’t even looked where we were walking – we were now forced to wait. We learned that the area where the floor was being replaced hadn’t been marked off as it should have been. Our shoes were stuck deep in a strong adhesive meant to hold new floor tiles in place. As a store employee and some caring bystanders worked to solve the problem, Honor and I talked with them about how ridiculous the situation was, and how grateful we were for their help. We had been forced to wait, but they had chosen to wait with us. Finally, the employee found a bottle of rubbing alcohol we poured on our shoes to break free of the messy adhesive. Then we escaped by balancing on a chain of shopping carts and outstretched arms set up for us by the caring onlookers.
Cheers erupted from the crowd of people gathered around us. I found myself spontaneously hugging the people who had helped us. They had delayed their own plans to help two strangers, and they had encouraged us while we waited. Getting stuck that day had been more than just an annoying problem. The situation had been an opportunity to learn how to wait well.
Waiting is often challenging. When we want something now but must wait for it, we can feel quite frustrated. Sometimes we may try to get around delays by looking for shortcuts. Our time is valuable, after all, so it’s easy to rationalize getting impatient. But God calls us to practice patience and be hopeful. Psalm 33:20-21 NIV tells us: “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.”
What are you waiting for right now? Is God taking longer than you would like to answer your prayers for it? You can’t know when God will choose to answer your prayers, but you can count on the fact that waiting for his timing is always worthwhile. If you decide to trust God to act in his timing rather than trying to convince him to act in your timing, you’ll eventually discover that God’s answers will be better than you’d expected, because they’ll come with his blessing.
Even though you do have to wait, you don’t have to wait passively. The time you spend waiting can be much more than simply a boring and frustrating period to get through. In fact, you can be quite active while you wait, cooperating with God’s work in your life. God has the best time in mind to answer your prayers. Waiting for God’s answer in whatever situation you’re facing is well worth the time – not only because God will ultimately respond, but because he’ll change you in the process. The ways God builds your faith while you’re waiting are as important as the answer for which you’re waiting. You can be confident the time you spend waiting isn’t wasted, because God will deepen your faith in the process.
Patience is one of the “fruit of the Spirit” mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 NIV. So, while you’re waiting for something important, you can work with the Holy Spirit to develop more patience. Along the way, you’ll also find hope to strengthen your faith.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
As you reflect on waiting with hope, consider these questions:
- In what situations do you struggle to be patient? How can you remind yourself of the importance of waiting patiently with hope in those situations?
- How can prayer help you cultivate patience and a sense of hope while waiting for God’s timing?
- How can you rely on the Holy Spirit to help you be more patient day by day?
- How can you remain hopeful and trust in God’s plan even when it seems like your prayers are going unanswered because you’ve been waiting for such a long time?
- How can you use your waiting period to grow in faith and deepen your relationship with God?
- How can you support and encourage others who are also waiting for answers or direction from God?
Further Reading:
Whitney Hopler helps people discover God's wonder and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USA’s national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She currently leads the communications work at George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Connect with Whitney on her website at www.whitneyhopler.com, on Facebook, and on X/Twitter.
Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!
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