“Waiting rarely feels like a gift,” says Diana Vasile. Yet it yields such wonderful fruit, as you will discover in her article (p. 10). Other missionaries echo this sentiment.

Waiting allows God’s plans to unfold in His perfect timing. He knows people’s needs and, in presenting the gospel to others, the best way and time to reach them. God is always busy working ahead, preparing hearts through the Holy Spirit, often long before someone has a chance to share with that person (Al-Masih p. 6). Waiting makes divine appointments possible (Castillo p. 33).

Waiting provides the opportunity to live with intentionality (Aleman p. 45)—time to pray, ponder, plan and proceed.

Waiting enables God to give good and perfect gifts, the right vehicle (Babienco p. 39), timely funding (David p. 37 & Mattson p. 31), and the opportunity for every ending to become a new beginning (Stone p. 12 & Patrocinio p. 36). In effect, waiting encourages the exercise of trust and the growth of faith.

Admittedly, waiting can be excruciating. Sometimes, however, the delay is designed so that the blessing is not limited to us alone, but so God may use us as His instrument in blessing others (Wyler p. 24).

Let us thank God that He often waits on us, giving us time to respond, to be obedient, to mature, to be shaped by His hands, to cultivate grace and patience (Theunissen p. 30 and Vasile p. 10), and to prepare for what He knows may come next. What love is revealed in His longsuffering!

Wait on God. But not idly. While waiting, be obedient and serve Him for others. Then let His will be done.

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