101_Waiting on God

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.

Ex 24: 12-14“The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”

A young musician dreamed of being part of a world-renowned orchestra. She trained diligently for years, enduring long hours of practice, and sacrificed much to master her instrument. Finally, she was called to audition for the orchestra of her dreams. After a good performance, weeks passed, then months, without a response. Doubts begin to creep in. Did they forget about her? Was she not good enough? After two months, she considers quitting, thinking that perhaps she was never meant to be a musician.

But behind the scenes, the orchestra conductor was deeply impressed with her audition. In four months, the right position would open up, one that would truly match her talent. He was waiting for that moment to offer her the position. If she had given up, she would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

In our spiritual lives, waiting can be agonizing. It can feel like silence, like being forgotten. The Israelites at Mount Sinai endured this pain, as did Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, David, and many others throughout Scripture. But God’s delays are not His denials. They are His period of proving and preparation. Waiting refines us, tests our faith, and positions us to receive His best when the opportune time comes.
Exodus 24:12-14 narrates how God called Moses up the mountain to receive the law. He had prepared deputies to oversee the people and provide leadership. God is always a God of order, arranging for every situation. However, neither Moses nor the people were given a timeline for how long this would take. Their trust was tested as all they could do was wait.

As Exodus 32:1 describes, “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’”

This is the greatest danger of impatience – it leads to idolatry. Israel, standing at the foot of Mount Sinai, had every reason to trust. They had seen God’s miracles in Egypt, His provision in the wilderness, and the clouds, darkness, thunder and lightning on the mountain where Moses had gone up to God’s glory on the mountain. Yet, in their waiting, they doubted whether he would complete his plan for them, and turned to a golden calf to be their god. They had heard the voice of God. Yet, after 40 days of waiting, they found it hard to believe that Moses would really come back. Instead of trusting, they took matters into their own hands.

Abraham and Sarah faced the same challenge. God had promised them a son. After 12 years of waiting, they grew impatient. Sarah, convinced that God’s promise was taking too long, gave her slave Hagar to Abraham as a surrogate, hoping to have a child through her. The result? Conflict, sorrow, and consequences that lasted generations.

King Saul also failed the test of waiting. In 1 Samuel 13, he was instructed to wait for the prophet Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifices, and enquire of the Lord, before making a move in the war. But as the days passed and his army grew fearful, with more deserting every day, Saul revealed that his real confidence was in his men and not in God Almighty. Taking matters into his own hands, he offered the sacrifice himself. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. All he got for his feeble justifications was a rebuke, and a prophecy that his kingdom would not endure. Saul’s impatience cost him everything.

Jesus also spoke of waiting in Matthew 24, where He described a servant who began to act wickedly when his master delayed his return. The delay revealed his true character. Instead of remaining faithful, he became complacent, indulging in selfish pleasures. And when the master finally came, judgment fell upon him.

David, on the other hand, demonstrated what it means to wait with trust. In Psalm 37:7, he wrote, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” David knew what it was to wait—whether in caves while fleeing from Saul or in prayer, longing for God’s intervention. He understood that waiting is not passive but an act of faith.

Joseph’s story also teaches us the power of waiting. After being sold into slavery and later imprisoned, he spent years in a dungeon, seemingly forgotten. Genesis 40:23 tells us that even after helping Pharaoh’s cupbearer, “the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him.” But God had not forgotten. The waiting was a season of preparation and training. Fresh from the nomadic lifestyle of his clan, the lad now received training in palace culture and manner, royal protocol, the issues of administering a royal household, and how to deal with courtiers like the baker or the cupbearer. He also proved his devotion to God alone, when Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce him. At God’s moment, Joseph was lifted from the prison to the palace in one moment, not as a mere freedman, but as Pharaoh’s first-in-command over Egypt.

When God asks us to wait, let us wait. When healing doesn’t come, when prayers seem unanswered, when the promise lingers longer than expected—let us trust, let us not take matters into our own hands.

Paul reminds us in Romans 5:3-4 that waiting is part of God’s refining process: “But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Waiting is not about delay; it is about development. It is in these moments that our character is shaped, our faith is strengthened, and our trust in God is deepened.

Isaiah 40:31 promises: “But those 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.” The strength to endure is found not in rushing ahead blindly, but in trusting Him fully.

If you find yourself in a season of waiting, remember that God is never late. He is working behind the scenes in ways you cannot see. Let us not grow weary or take matters into our own hands. Instead, let us remember His promises, trust in His timing, and grow in our faith as we wait. Blessed are those who wait on Him, for they will see His faithfulness unfold in ways that they could never have imagined. God bless.