Beauty in the Wait
Life is full of waiting.
We wait in line at the grocery store. We wait for the coffee to brew, for the weather to change, for the sun to break through the clouds.
We wait for the daily things. We wait for the weightier things. For the healing to come, for the “one,” for the long awaited opportunity. We wait for God to speak. We wait for the answer to prayer.
We wait. And waiting can be hard.
Has God forgotten me? Am I unworthy? Do I need to work harder, strive more? Do I need to have more grit? More faith?
These are the thoughts that race through our heads. I believe that in these moments of grappling with the challenges of waiting, it helps to remember that the wait isn’t a waste. There is a purpose in every season and a testimony that waits on the other side of our wait.
The Bible contains many powerful lessons on waiting.
One that I recently read is in Acts 3, which recounts the healing of a lame man.
In this chapter of Scripture, we read that this man had been lame all his life - from his mother’s womb (Acts 3:2). Daily, he laid at the temple gate called Beautiful, seeking alms from temple-goers. As Peter heads into the temple, he heals the lame man in the name of Jesus. The man immediately leaps to his feet and excitedly bounds into the temple, praising God for his miraculous healing! Those who witnessed this were astonished by his transformation.
Wow! I believe this account contains so many rich and powerful truths about God’s purpose for our waiting! Let’s break them down one by one.
Lesson #1: God is in the details
I love the juxtaposition - a lame man sitting at the feet of the Beautiful gate, who ultimately encounters a beautiful Savior in that very position. I can imagine day after day, year after year, this man sat at the foot of this gate. And in a moment, through a miraculous healing, he was transported to the very feet of Jesus.
Let it not be lost on us that God is in the details - not superficially, but intimately. You may find yourself at your own Beautiful gate, in a state of need or lack or immobility. God can meet you even there, wherever “there” is. Do you have hope that the limitations you may be facing in the physical are no match for God’s plans in the supernatural?
Lesson #2: Be expectant
The lame man expected to receive something and received the unexpected. As Peter and John were about to enter the temple, the lame man asked them for alms. Peter and John gave him their attention, and the lame man did the same. Acts 3:5 says that the man expected something from them.
It’s easy to lose hope in the waiting, to settle and believe that things will never change. However, I believe the story of the lame man reminds us that blessings greater than we can even imagine or ask for are on the other side of an expectant heart.
God exceeds our expectations (read Ephesians 3:20-21). The lame man expected money, perhaps a morsel of food. God, through Peter and John, ushered in a far greater gift - healing and salvation after a lifetime of lameness (Acts 3:6).
While we wait, it’s so important to remember that God’s ways are better. Come to Him expectant, with open hands, not holding on to our own plans and desires and myopic conceptions of what’s possible, knowing that what God offers is far greater than our own limited hopes.
Lesson #3: Don’t overlook what appears common
God will do miracles through that which we’ve grown to see as common.
Acts 3:2 tells us that the man was lame from birth - so all his life - and was laid daily at the temple gate. Bystanders were probably accustomed to seeing this man and hearing his requests for alms. Perhaps they even became so accustomed that they ignored him and went on their way into the temple without so much as glancing his way.
Not so with Peter and John. They stop. They acknowledge his needs and then inform him that they have something to offer him that is far better than what he’s requesting - healing (Acts 3:6-7). Notice that they touch his hand. They get close to him. They don’t treat him as an outsider, or a bother, but as a brother.
It’s important that we don’t become so rushed and preoccupied with our own life stories that we don’t allow God to use us in someone else’s. Are we allowing God to use us as an answered prayer?
Let’s not overlook the “common,” the outcast, the street-bound, the bedridden, the marginalized, or otherwise cast aside brothers and sisters that God has placed around us. The Bible tells us that God uses the simple and lowly things of this world to put to shame the lofty (I Corinthians 1:28).
God’s glory is on full display when He works through people who have nothing to offer but themselves. The lame man couldn’t buy healing, earn it, or apply a title for it. It was God alone who worked a miracle in and through him. This is how God alone gets the glory. God’s love isn’t earned by status or earthly position. It’s His grace and mercy that triumphs, ushering in salvation and healing to all who believe.
Lesson #4: The shift can be sudden
God may not always change your situation immediately, but He can shift it suddenly. It’s all about His timing. Fast forward to Acts 4:22, we learn that the lame man was over 40 years old at the time of his healing! Forty years of being unable to walk, at the mercy of other people’s provision. Forty years of waiting for alms, attention, healing - and in an instant, by the power of Jesus Christ, the man was healed.
Don’t confuse the wait with delay. God is not delayed. Christ’s power is displayed in His ability to shift our story suddenly, dramatically, and in His perfect timing. The length of our struggle foretells the magnitude of God’s glory to be revealed in us when He does indeed shift our story.
Don’t be discouraged by the length of your wait. Rather, be encouraged by the height and depth of God’s greatness on display in your life as He threads a miracle through your waiting season.
Lesson #5: The wait is a witness
God uses our waiting season as a witness to others. Bystanders saw the lame man, now healed, walking and leaping into the temple as he praised God for his miraculous transformation. Acts 3:10 says they knew it was the man who used to beg at the gate and they were filled with wonder.
God wants to give you a “used to” testimony.
“I used to be depressed - but God touched my mind.”
“I used to be suicidal - but God delivered me from the valley of the shadow of death.”
“I used to be angry and bitter - but God replaced my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh.”
“I used to be addicted - but God pulled me out of darkness into light.”
“I used to hate myself - but God gave me a new identity in Christ.”
The size of our praise often reflects the length of our wait and the depth of our deliverance. This praise puts God on full display. If God can do it for them, He can do it for me. If He can do it for me, He can do it for you. Contagious faith. I used to be…but God!
I pray you found this study to be encouraging, no matter what season of life you find yourself in. Press into the waiting and watch the testimony that God is handcrafting for your good and His glory!