3 Tips to Surviving when you're Waiting on God

This weekend I watched as my grandma cried out in prayer for God to take away her pain. Watching her in agony, hurt me. Grandma was waiting on God. Watching this all happen; I learned 3 things you should do while waiting.

While my grandma was laying down it finally came time to put on a cream pain reliever. We had already tried different positions in bed to no avail. So after my mom put the pain reliever on her shoulder, I laid down next to grandma.

Grandma relaxed, you might be thinking it was the pain reliever. It may have been but part of me believes it was because she didn't feel alone anymore. She wasn't in her room by herself. She had company.

Don't avoid Community

I've been waiting on God to open multiple doors for me. I'm trying to be patient, but it is hard. Why, because I feel alone. I see others around me who have what I've been praying for and asking God to give me. Yet here I stand, hands open, but still empty.

So the first thing I learned is that we need community. I have a tendency to want to lock myself away in my apartment. The Bible reminds us that it is better to be in community.

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Praise God

Before Grandma finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep. She did something that I know was hard for her. Despite her pain and that God wasn't answering her prayer for the pain to go away. Grandma praised God for his goodness.

As I was replaying the weekend in my head, I started wondering how often I have praised God, while waiting. How often have I actually praised God because he is good and worthy of our praise? The thing is, I know that when I praise God I feel better. Even more so when I put my whole heart into it. I love singing "You are Holy", it just reminds me of how great God is.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. - Psalm 48:1

 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. - Psalm 136:1

Don't give up

You know something else that happened this weekend. We prayed and we prayed, but we didn't give up. We did finally talk grandma into going to the hospital. They gave her pain medicine and checked her out.

I don't believe that was giving up. I believe God wanted grandma to have some relief and that is the way he choose to give it to her. We are still praying that the pain stays away and that the doctors can continue to help her. (She has a torn rotary cuff, please keep her in prayer).

This reminds me of Hebrews 11.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. - Hebrews 11:39-40

The faith chapter is full of people who stuck it out. Even when they never had the opportunity to see God's promise's revealed on earth. We must trust God's timing and never give up.

Can you relate to waiting on God? What do you find helps you through the wait?