What Are You Waiting For?

I don’t wait well. Long drive-thru lines, grocery stores with ten customers and one cashier, even slow downloads make me grumpy. The longer the wait, the more I struggle with patience. 

I find it especially difficult to wait for something I want badly. The grown up version of “I just can’t wait ‘til Christmas” becomes, “Why isn’t my career, financial situation, ministry, relationship, or ____________(fill in the blank) getting better? When will something change?” 

I suspect you struggle in similar ways. You desperately want your husband to get a new job so finances will improve and he’ll be happier. You struggle with a prodigal child, a difficult marriage, or a challenging ministry, and you wonder when the breakthrough will come. You give and give and give, and pray and pray and pray, and some days you wonder if you’re just wasting your time. Should you give up on the hope, the dream, the prayer? 

James, the half-brother of Christ, penned words of encouragement for times like these: 

“Be patient, brothers . . . See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient” (James 5:7-8). 

Since most of us aren’t farmers, we miss the profound significance of this metaphor. It speaks volumes of hope to those of us who are waiting. 

Every day we plant a hope. We water it with effort and prayer—sometimes a lot of effort and prayer. Sometimes years of effort and prayer. And we wait. And we wait. And we wait.

Occasionally we see glimmers of what might be happening beneath the surface, but often we don’t see anything but flat, black earth. Sometimes things even seem to get worse, and we wonder, Is God at work at all in this situation, or is he off tending to more important business? And we grow weary. 

What we miss by not being tillers of the earth is the necessary process of waiting. Did you notice that in the two short verses above, James used the word patient three times? Three times. 

No farmer expects to plop a seed in the ground and come back the next day to harvest an ear of corn. He recognizes that time, warm dirt, and gentle rain will one day cause the seed to produce a harvest. 

But not today. And not tomorrow. 

He also knows that the flat, black earth isn’t a barren wasteland. It’s an incubator for growth and change. 

How does this apply to our wait? A wise counselor once told me, “It’s your job to plant the seeds, but only God can make them grow.” 

If you’re in the period between sowing and harvesting, please don’t despair. And don’t give up. Continue to pray, sow, and water, and, I promise you, the latter rains are coming. And then comes the harvest. 

“He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:6). 

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Jas. 5:16). 

What are you waiting for? If you’ll leave a comment in the comment box, I’ll add my prayers to yours, and together we’ll wait (patiently) to see what the Lord will do.





Does Your Faith Need Refreshing?

That's in the Bible? I've never noticed that before!

It's probably been too long since you've newly discovered a story that speaks to your soul or a verse that pops with truth. But that's about to change!


Refresh Your Faith contains 66 culturally relevant, story-driven devotions, one from each book of the Bible. Each real-life story spotlights an unusual verse or Bible passage that you may have overlooked in your usual Bible reading. Lori Hatcher challenges you with additional features like an uncommon thought to ponder; an unusual faith action step; and an unfamiliar passage suggestion for additional Bible reading.

When the fabulous has become familiar and your quiet times are more like nap times, it's time to step out of spiritual boredom and ignite the spark that will keep you growing. No matter where you are on your faith journey, Lori's conversational and engaging style will challenge you to think about things you've never thought about before.

“Real-life inspiration and candid wit. These 5-minute devotions will change your life.” —Psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Kevin Leman, commenting on Lori Hatcher's devotional style




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Copyright 2018 by Lori Hatcher