Happy weekend, dear gal. I hope you’ve enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. I guess now it’s time to turn our attention toward Christmas. Do you practice advent? By definition, advent is a season of waiting with expectation and preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ nativity and His second coming. And that’s a beautiful segue into what I’ve been pondering lately…the act of waiting. Let’s talk about the beauty of waiting well.
On Saturdays we talk about inner beauty here at Dressed for My Day. I don’t know that I get as many readers on these days, but it’s important to me that I approach this style blog with a little balance. And for me, that balance means we think about the inner qualities of a woman that make her truly beautiful. I’ve discovered that truly beautiful women are those who have developed a little patience and have learned the art of waiting well.
I’ve heard it said that good things come to those who wait.
Well, that’s not scriptural or anything. But we do learn from the Bible that God grants good things to those who learn to wait on Him. When we wait for God, we gain valuable treasures such as strength (Isaiah 40:31), help or aid (Psalm 33:20), a lasting inheritance (Psalm 37:34), answers (Psalm 38:15), deliverance (Psalm 40) and hope (Psalm 130), among other things.
The woman who has learned to wait well is characterized by peace.
The woman who waits well is not fretting or manipulating others in an attempt to get what she is anxious for. She is content with the knowledge that God is always at work, He is good, He is attentive to His children’s needs and He is more than able to provide.
A woman who has learned to wait well has hope and so she radiates joy. She lives each day with expectation, not defeat.
I’ve noticed too that women who wait well have healthier relationships because they are not trying to do in or to other people that which only God can do. These women are at rest. Sometimes annoyingly so! Ha! While the rest of us are fretting, they are trusting and waiting well. But in the end, their reliance on God always pays off. And we envy the peace and contentment we see in their lives.
What does it mean to wait well?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:28-31
There’s waiting and there’s waiting well. We all have to wait, like it or not. But the rewards come to those who wait with the expectation that God is at work. We wait well when we do these four things:
- Take our hands off and truly trust God to work. We wait well when we completely let go and relinquish the work to God. This is difficult, isn’t it? But it’s not impossible.
Tip: To completely take my hands off of something that I am waiting for God to do, I change my prayers. I stop asking Him to do something or, worse yet, telling Him what to do, and I start thanking Him for working. As the situation comes to mind, I pray something like, “Thank you, Lord, for working this out for me. I trust that you are doing what is best in Your perfect timing.”
- Do what only we can do while letting God do what only He can do. I’m not waiting well when I try to do what God has said He will do. God changes hearts, restores, rebuilds, performs miracles, opens eyes, gives understanding, redirects paths, and so much more. What can I do? My job is to wait, to pray, to trust fully, to verbally confess to others that God is trustworthy, to thank Him (1 Thessalonian 5:18), to put one foot in front of the other and do what I’ve been assigned for that day.
- Anticipate good. The woman who waits well does not grow anxious because she thinks bad is going to happen, but she rests easier because she anticipates that God will always do what is ultimately good. Waiting well means we have hope instead of dread.
- Focus on truth rather than speculation. A woman who waits well is one who doggedly returns to the truth of God’s Word and the truth of her circumstances whenever doubt or speculations rise up in her mind. I think that’s the hardest part of waiting. The enemy of our soul wants to use our times of waiting to plant seeds of doubt and distrust in God. But the wise woman resists the enemy and steadily plants the truth of God’s Word in her heart.
What will you do this week to learn to wait well?
I’d like to tell you that I’m a woman who consistently waits well. But that wouldn’t be true. I’m a woman who tries to wait well. But I still grow anxious at times. And I still put my hands back in the mix and try to manipulate things. Each time I do so, I soon realize that I may have actually slowed the process down instead of speeding it up.
Let’s agree that waiting well is indeed a characteristic of a truly beautiful woman. And let’s work to develop this trait within. I’d love for you to share with me any thoughts you have on this subject. And let me know if anything I’ve shared here today particularly resonated with you.
Do you have thoughts you’d like to share about today’s topic? I’d love to hear from you today! I tend to take as much time off from work as I can during the weekends, so I may not reply to your comments unless you ask me a direct question. But I’d love for you to carry on this conversation in the comment section below. And you can know for certain that I read and value each and every comment. Please remember that I try to keep this space free from controversy, so let’s stay away from the topic of politics or other divisive issues.
I appreciate your Saturday posts. Thank you for doing them.
You’re so welcome, Jodi. Thanks for letting me know!
Fabulous post! Waiting is not something most of us can say we excel at accomplishing. My late mother-in-law always said she did not pray for patience because she felt God would really test her and give her some bad experiences. Somehow I failed to understand her reasoning. You are so right; gratitude goes right along with waiting well.
I love your Inner Beauty posts-they’re good for the soul. Today’s post on Waiting Well particularly resonates with me – definitely something I need to work on. I know in my head that I need to trust God but find myself time and time again trying to figure it out by myself instead of trusting Him and His timing. Thank you for the reminder and enjoy your day of Hallmark movies – one of my favorite things about this time of year!
I love these Inner Beauty talks. I have to say I am so guilty of not always waiting on God. ?♀️ As someone with OCD I always have to fight my need to control outcomes and I don’t like having to wait. But I agree with you 100% – when I start trying to handle it on my own I just end up delaying Gods work. ?♀️ When I do wait He always comes through at the right time. You would think I’d learn right? But I do always strive to wait and trust in His timing.
I’m going through something major right now and I’m doing my best to trust and wait on Him. ??❤️
Ahh, praying for you to have patience and inner strength as you wait on God in this difficult season. Hang in there! He’s got this. And He’s got you!!!
I have often said “Patience is not one of my virtues.” Boy, waiting is hard and I’m trying! I had major back surgery two years ago and wore a brace for 4 months. Was only supposed to be for 3 months and when my doctor told me I still had to wear it for another month…..well, out the door went my patience. I was good and patient for the three months but that added month hit me like a ton of bricks. It has taken me two years to get to some semblance of ‘normal’ then two weeks ago…..I fell…hard on my right side. It’s a miracle I didn’t break anything or undo my surgery. I pulled a LOT of things in my right leg, side, etc and back to using my walker again. The healing process has been slow but it sure has been hard ‘waiting,’ I have to admit, I was doing ok with it until a few days ago and then my patience flew out the window and in flew self pity. I’ll get healed up, I know, but the waiting is sure hard. I just keep thanking the Lord for everything else good in my life and so thankful I didn’t break anything. Keep the Sat posts coming, Kay. xoxo
Oh Sondra, I’m so sorry to hear about your ordeal. That has got to be tough. Your situation makes my own seasons of waiting feel more like a brief stay in a well appointed waiting room. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us. I know you didn’t wait perfectly. None of us do. But you have definitely waited WELL. Bless you!
Kay, I really look forward to your Inner Beauty posts!! I
I enjoy your daily posts, but especially enjoy the
Sat. posts. I think most of us could spend a little
more time in God’s word – I know I can!!
I googled and “wait” is used 106 times in the KJV
of the Bible; so I think God thinks it is important
to learn to wait and be patient! It is showing trust!
Enjoy your “Hallmark” movies! They are certainly
part of my day during this season!’
I’m so glad you do these Saturday posts. This one is excellent and I’m going to read it again. Waiting well is difficult for impatient people, and our culture seems to breed impatience. Thank you for these thoughtful and challenging posts!
Kay, You will never know how much this post meant to me. It was exactly what I needed to help me face a very difficult diagnosis that I received the end of September. Thank you and God bless you.
I’m so glad this encouraged you. Persevere, dear gal. Bless you.
I enjoy your weekly posts but your Saturday posts are my favorite! They feed my soul with your Godly wisdom and are full of God’s truths. I’m in the most difficult season I’ve ever faced and the beauty of waiting resonated with me so much. I find myself trusting His timing then trying to guide the reigns all by myself again and again. But Jesus promises, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30. I read the other day that a yoke was used to train an inexperienced ox by yoking to an experienced one. I need to rest in Him, waiting on Him and His timing, rather than trying to pull away from His loving yoke. It’s often an hour by hour training lesson for me right now. Thank you for this timely post. Be Blessed!
I’m glad God used these words to encourage you. Bless you.
I look forward to your Saturday posts❤️
Thanks Diane. I’m glad you enjoy them. They push me to think beyond the superficial.
I too enjoy and look forward to your Saturday posts Kay. Waiting and patience admittedly comes easier with age…perhaps from experience and hindsight showing me that God handled my problems, and He will do that for me again!
Hi Kay. Yes, I do celebrate the Advent Season. I truly enjoy your Saturday Inner Beauty Posts. Thank you so much for sharing your inspirational messages. I enjoyed your tip and prayer :Thank you, Lord, for working this out for me. I trust that you are doing what is best in Your perfect timing.” I hope you don’t mind if I use this prayer in my own prayers because I tend to have God a list of petitions but I am practicing to end with “Thy Will Be Done”. Thanks again.
Absolutely! I find praying this prayer of affirming my faith is God transforms my thinking.
Kay
Thank you so much for your post today. What great reminders about waiting well! I am in a season of waiting in a situation with my adult children and it’s so hard sometimes. Thank you for the reminder that I can trust that God is working this all out for my good. When despair sets in I am reminded to only think about what I know to be true and not the worse thing that can happen. I also like your example of thankfulness in prayer about what God is already doing to work out for the best. Your words have encouraged me. Thanks again!
I look forward to your s Saturday post each week. Thank you for writing these . No I am not good at waiting. This post was good timing for me as just a couple of weeks ago God began speaking to me about this subject. Isn’t the Lord good ?
Yes indeed. I’m so glad this ministered to you.
I look forward to your Saturday posts as well…I always learning something!
Hope you enjoyed your day off! It’s nice to watch a Hallmark movie especially this time of the year!
This really hits home for me because Im in a season of waiting. Im working part time with an after school program. I know that God has a plan with something else for me to do. I preach to
myself every day that God has a plan he isnt done w me yet. this give something to consider am I waiting well. Most of time im not .
2 years ago my 18 year old sweet son took his own life. I belong to a group for Bereaved Parents, called “While We’re Waiting”. We are learning to wait well until we see our Savior, and hold our child(ren) again. This is such a near and dear subject to my heart, and you’ve said everything so beautifully, thank you for the reminders! In His love, April
Oh April. Thank you for bravely sharing your story and adding your perspective. May God be glorified in your wait. Bless you.
Very well written Kay. I truly appreciate the time you spend writing your daily posts. However, I thoroughly enjoy the Saturday ones. My husband and I went out of town for the weekend and we are going back home to NC today….so I am a little behind on emails. I went through a waiting season/tough situation for almost 9 years which just ended this past summer. I actually thank God for it because it drew me closer to him. I started a daily Gratitude Journal that I am addicted too. When I look back or read what I wrote, I am in awe of what God has blessed me along the way. I am in awe of how God never left my side, how he protected me, how he gave me HIS supernatural strength because I was weary and exhausted many times and this list could go on and on. My precious Daddy passed away this past July and ohhhhh how I miss him so much. Thanksgiving was different this year. I have always been a planner so over the last nine years, I have learned to wait. Have I been patient??? The majority of the time NO until the last couple years I had to surrender to God and say….okay God your word says that your ways are higher than my ways and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts so I had to make the best of the situation. My waiting season also taught me to take one day at a time. My waiting season taught me how I “react” when things don’t go my way. I try to give myself something to look forward to each day. I am still a planner, however if things don’t go the way I want them to go, I have to remind myself God is in control, not me. I tell myself that God did it for me before and he will do it again in his way and on his time. I know these suggestions are easier said than done. Many continued blessings to you Kay. ~Lisa~
I am late in reading this post (busy weekend) but it has really resonated with me. Thank you so much. I have been waiting and praying for guidance on a relationship with a family member. I love so much about this post and will try to remember to “wait with the expectation that God is at work”.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, Pam. Maybe you read it when you could best receive it. May God continue to work in your relationship. I know He is. ❤️