The Blessing of Waiting: Recognising the Seasons of Preparation – Part Two – Carrie Baker

If you have ever struggled, or are currently languishing in a season of waiting, this blog post is for you.

In part one of this blog post, we covered these three points:

1. Waiting is a time of preparation and growth : God uses this time to grow and prepare us for the season ahead. He wants us to be ready so we can succeed.

2. Waiting Grows patience and trust : God uses this time to grow and prepare us for the season ahead. He wants us to be ready so we can succeed.

3. Waiting builds character and humility : Waiting grows our character in the ways we will need it to, for what lays ahead. God is building the foundation to sustain what he has for us. Learning that we aren’t in control, teaches us the humility to wholly rely on God for everything.

If you need to go back and read Part One of this blog, you can click here!

I know that you are ready to jump into part two, so let’s begin!

4. Waiting Aligns Your Desires with God’s Will

Waiting allows you to time and space to align your desires, hopes and plans with God’s perfect will for your life. It gives you an opportunity to search your heart, to discern whether your desires are in line with His purposes, and whether you’re seeking His kingdom above all else.

“Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly.”
Psalm 37:4-5

Through waiting, you learn to surrender your own agendas and embrace the plans that God has for you. When you align your dreams, hopes and plans with His, you can be assured that He will make a way for you to succeed, whatever the outcome is.

5. Waiting Helps You to Appreciate the Blessings

Sometimes, the waiting seasons can make you appreciate the blessings or answers that God has already given, and eventually, those He will bring into your life.

“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
Isaiah 30:18

The contrast between the waiting and the fulfilment of that waiting, reveals God’s goodness and all the ways He is faithful. He will sustain you through the waiting season, when you walk it with him.

There is something that happens when we wait; life feel like it slows down, to a frustrating pace. It’s in these times, we are given a chance to ‘stop and smell the roses’ as it were. Use the slower pace, to appreciate where the Lord has placed you, the work He has done, the opportunities He has given you, and all the good He has brought into your life.

Then when the waiting season finally comes to an end, it deepens your gratitude and allows you to cherish His blessings over your life all the more.

6. Waiting Reveals God’s Purpose and Direction

During seasons of waiting, is a wonderful time to seek clarity and direction for your life. In the waiting it allows you to pause, reflect, and seek God’s purpose in your season. But it’s hard isn’t it, to be still or stop when you have things to do and places to be?

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”
Psalm 37:7

It’s in the stillness and the waiting that you can hear God’s voice above the noise of life. In those moments you have the opportunity to align yourself again, with His plans for you.

In the process of waiting, God will confirm His purpose for your life or maybe even redirect your path. You can find peace in knowing that God’s plans are greater than your own.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Proverbs 16:9

We can make all the plans we want to, some of them will align with God and be great, some of those also won’t succeed. We can know that ultimately, God establishes the path we take, no matter how many wrong turns it takes to get us there. We can trust in his sovereignty, and try our best to follow his leading.

7. Waiting Strengthens Your Testimony and Encourages Others

Lastly, seasons of waiting have the potential to strengthen your testimony and encourage others who may be going through similar experiences. Your story and personal journey, are powerful resources when you share them with others.

When you navigate through the challenges of waiting, your faith is tested. When you have walked through that season, you experience firsthand God’s faithfulness and provision.

“He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”
2 Corinthians 1:4 TPT

The stories you will be able to tell of your waiting and how God sustained you, will be such an encouragement for others. When you share the ways God worked in your life during times of waiting, you will offer hope and reassurance to those who are struggling. By turning your waiting into a testimony, you can glorify God and inspire others to trust in His faithfulness in their own season.

Times of waiting may not be easy, but they offer many benefits for your spiritual growth and walk with God. As you embrace the lessons and opportunities that waiting presents, you can find comfort in knowing that God is with you every step of the way, using these seasons to shape you into the very person He has called you to be.

To recap all that we have covered in these two parts:

1. Waiting is a Time of Preparation and Growth : God uses this time to grow and prepare us for the season ahead. He wants us to be ready so we can succeed.

2. Waiting Grows Patience and Trust : Waiting gives us opportunity to grow in patience, and sometimes the only way we can walk through those seasons, is to trust in the Lord.

3. Waiting Builds Character and Humility : Waiting grows our character in the ways we will need it to, for what lays ahead. God is building the foundation to sustain what he has for you. Learning that we aren’t in control, teaches us the humility to wholly rely on God for everything.

4. Waiting Aligns Your Desires with God’s Will : Waiting gives us a chance to seek the Lord and surrender to his will for us, to check our motives behind what we are reaching for.

5. Waiting Helps You to Appreciate the Blessings : Waiting makes you appreciate all the ways the Lord is good and faithful, which deepens every time we come to the end of the waiting season.

6. Waiting Reveals God’s Purpose and Direction : Waiting gives us time to seek clarity to hear God’s purpose and direction, to make sure we are still on the right path.

7. Waiting Strengthens Your Testimony and Encourages Others : Our stories are powerful, we can be a blessing and encourage someone through their season of waiting. We can also be encouraged when we can look back at previous seasons, and know that God is in it.

The Lord doesn’t promise an easy life, but he does promise to always be with us through every season, and to give us what we need for today.

So let this be your prayer for each day, “Lord, give me all that I need for today, as you sustain and strengthen me. Help me to keep my heart open to what you are teaching me in this season, and give me patience in the waiting. Let your presence be tangibly felt, throughout my day. Thank you for all you are doing in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

Take lots of deep breaths friend, you’ve got this, because the Lord has got you.

I am so excited for all the ways you are growing friend, and how these seasons that the Lord is leading you through, will benefit you in new ways.

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Sending you love for the ways you are leaning into your preparation for the next season.

Carrie xxx

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Carrie Baker – The Growth Collective