Five Questions to Ask When You’re in God’s Waiting Room

The next time you find yourself in God’s waiting room through a personal loss, an unexpected difficulty, a severe test, or a “wilderness” time when you desperately need answers but can’t seem to find them, get alone in a quiet place and ask God these questions:

1. Lord, is there something you want to show me about Your character through this?
2. How can I love you more deeply and become more like You in this process?
3. How can I bring You glory in this situation?
4. Is there anything that needs changing in my life or anything you want to teach me?
5. How can you use this experience to help someone else?  

Five Questions Not To Ask God

1. How long will I be in the waiting room? (God has His own timetable).
2. Will you please be with me through this process? The answer is always yes. God has promised His children–those who know and love Him–that He will be with us always. That’s why He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NIV). As someone so wisely told me, “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.”
3. Why me? (The question is, Why not me?) As long as we live in an imperfect world, we will experience both good and bad.
4. What did I do to deserve this? (What did we do not to deserve it? We are not deserving of anything good and can never “earn” God’s favor. It’s only by God’s grace through faith–Jesus’ death and resurrection–that we are made acceptable to Him. And God always acts in our best interest, always. He is never “out to get us.” (See Ephesians 2:8-9).
5. Do you really care? (Yes, He does. No need to ask). “Cast all your anxiey on him because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7, NIV).

Since the beginning of time, long before we were born, God designed a blueprint for our lives. And “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6, NIV, author’s emphasis in bold). God will not abandon you or His good work in you!

God Knows Our Humanity

God blesses–and He disciplines–the ones He loves. He allows testing to come our way to ultmately shape us and make us more like Him. But in the midst of grief and anxiety, our emotions are susceptible to inaccurate reasoning. God knows our humanity and is not surprised by our emotions. And He gives us ample time to “heal”.

Don’t be discouraged when you see no hope in sight. Be gentle with yourself, and be open to God’s voice. In time, asking the right questions helps put us in a position to see, to learn, and to depend more deeply on the One who loves us so.

Will You Trust the Father’s Heart?

Jesus displayed emotions. He grieved. He hurt. He wept. But He knew and trusted His Father’s heart, even when God said, “No” to his request. (See Luke 22:42). Will you?

“Weeping may remain for a night; but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5, NIV).

An Affirming Prayer: “Jesus, no matter how long it takes, I want you to be honored and glorified in this–and in every–situation of my life. I know you plan to bring good out of bad. Help me to cooperate with you. I am willing to wait on You and with You.”

What about you? What has God taught you while you’ve been in His waiting room?

This was a two-part blog beginning with Is Bad Ever Good?

NOTE: The winner of the three Day-votions book series has been drawn and is pending notification. I will announce the name as soon as I hear from them.

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