Seasons Of Waiting

We’re all waiting for something. It might be a spouse or a baby. It might be healing or a home. Regardless of what we're waiting for, it’s easy to feel discontent when things aren’t going as planned and our dreams are delayed—especially when questions of “Why?” and “How long?” remain unanswered. God uses seasons of waiting to teach us patience and make us more like himself. But sanctification is not the only purpose God has in mind. When we wait faithfully with unmet longings, we become a powerful picture of the bride of Christ waiting for the day when he returns and God’s kingdom reigns.

What if God wants you to wait? Most of us know what it’s like to wait for God to change our circumstances. But, whether we’re waiting for physical healing, emotional breakthrough, or better relationships, waiting is something we usually try to avoid. Why? Because waiting is painful and hard. The truth is, it’s also inevitable. In Still Waiting, Ann Swindell explores the depths of why God wants us to wait by chronicling her own compelling story of waiting for healing from an incurable condition. She offers a vibrant retelling of the biblical account of the Bleeding Woman that parallels her story—and yours, too. Let Ann help you see the promise that is hidden in the ache of waiting and the hope of what God can—and will—do as you wait on him.

Everyone worships. But Jesus tells us that God is seeking a particular kind of worshiper. In True Worshipers, a seasoned pastor and musician guides readers toward a more engaging, transformative, and biblically faithful understanding of the worship God is seeking. True worship is an activity rooted in the grace of the gospel that affects every area of our lives. And while worship is more than just singing, God’s people gathering in his presence to lift their voices in song is an activity that is biblically based, historically rooted, and potentially life-changing. Thoroughly based in Scripture and filled with practical guidance, this book connects Sunday worship to the rest of our lives—helping us live as true worshipers each and every day.

A job, a true love, a baby, a cure. . . We’re all waiting for something from God. And the place between His answers can feel like a wasteland where dreams—and faith—go to die. When we’re waiting, we wonder, “Why?”, “Why me?”, and “How long?” But the truth? . . . When God says, “Wait,” He doesn’t tell us for how long. When God says, “Wait,” we face one of life’s greatest tests. When God says, “Wait,” we have decisions to make. When God says, “Wait,” we can control only two things: how we wait, and who we become along the way. Author Elizabeth Laing Thompson invites you to walk alongside people of the Bible who had to wait on God. . .imperfect heroes like David, Miriam, Naomi, Sarah, Joseph, and others. Their stories will provide a roadmap for your own story, helping you navigate the painful, lonely territory of waiting, coming out on the other side with your faith, relationships, and sense of humor intact. They might even help you learn to enjoy the ride. This book is about the journey of waiting, the space between answers, and the people we become while we live there.

In Seasons of Waiting, Barb Hill, a licensed professional counselor, invites you to find hope in life’s seasons of waiting, an experience that touches everyone. Whether you’re waiting for a spouse, a baby, a career, physical or emotional healing, or the restoration of a relationship, the feelings of tension and pain resonate with us. They expose what we believe, challenge our patience, refine our character, and confront where we’ve placed our hope. Since the process of waiting ebbs and flows, these 52 devotions poetically follow the rhythm of each season and unite the world of faith and mental health to offer hope no matter what season you’re in. Let Seasons of Waiting provide you with the courage you need to wait well, and the confidence that God’s timing is perfect!

Waiting is something we either try to avoid or try to end as soon as possible. We have a hard time sitting in the tension of wanting, but not yet having. There are so many emotions, doubts, and questions in the waiting, and we're not quite sure what to do with them. Often the waiting becomes a point of tension in our faith and our relationship with God. We blame Him for the waiting and wonder why He hasn't come through yet. Waiting is isolating, and it challenges our belief in God's goodness and faithfulness. But what if we that hard tension of waiting could become a catalyst for knowing God better? What if deeper intimacy with God could be birthed in the middle of our waiting seasons?We're all waiting for something-change, healing, freedom, connection, community, deliverance. We get to decide how we handle that waiting. Do we try to push through it or end it to get what we want? Or do we choose to enter into it honestly and vulnerably with God? Do we focus on getting that thing we're waiting for, or do we seek to be near to God and know Him better, no matter the outcome of our desire?In the Waiting is a 40 day journey through Scripture as we come alongside others who waited. Through their stories, we'll learn how to wait well, what not to do while we wait, and most importantly, how to draw near to God in seasons of wanting.

Everybody waits. We wait for a spouse, wait for a baby, wait on our children, wait for our parents. We wait for clarity and direction. We wait on a job, a promotion, a new direction. We wait for hope, for healing, and for miracles. We wait on God. And when we misunderstand what waiting is about, we can get confused about what God is up to. Waiting is one of God’s favorite tools. He can do certain things in our hearts, our lives, and our relationships while we wait—things we cannot experience once we’ve opened the gift we have been waiting for. So just you wait, because everyone takes their turn in the waiting room. It’s a long and painful fact of life, but shortcuts and microwaves aren’t the answer. God is at work behind the scenes in invisible ways you can’t see . . . yet. Just you wait and see how ready you’ll be if you spend your waiting well. Because when your opportunity comes, you don’t want to spend more time on the bench. When you wait well, you can say, “Look out, world: I am getting ready to shine. Just you wait.” In these pages, Tricia discusses the joy hidden in the discipline of waiting, and the practices of believing God is for you and working on your behalf, even when the work of His hand is hard to find.