Waiting on God Reimagined

Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog whose favorite book title is, “The Ten Most Humble People in the World and How I Trained the Other Nine.” Subtitle: “Humility and How I Attained it.”

Quick report before today’s featured article. Thanks to many of you, I’m thrilled that so many Bible Study groups, fellowships, Bible college classes, men’s groups, women’s groups, discipleship groups, and churches are going through my new book as a group to unlock the New Testament and mine its riches for personal transformation.

We now have a gratis new Reading Program for groups. This isn’t your parent’s Bible study or your typical Bible “reading plan” which fizzles out after a few weeks. Don’t be left out. This is how revolutions spread. Writing and completing the book was an Everest-like challenge. I’m glad it’s now paying off. Go here for details on how to get the Reading Program. Again, there’s no charge.

Waiting on God Reimagined

The term “waiting” is my word for 2026. The biblical idea of waiting on God embodies active trust in God’s perfect timing amid current delays.

The primary Hebrew word translated as “wait” in key Old Testament passages is from the root meaning “to bind together” or “to look for with anticipation.” This implies a cord-like tension of hopeful endurance, NOT passive idleness or servitude (serving) like a waiter attending tables.

Rather, the word describes active hope intertwined with reliance on God.

To be more specific, waiting on God involves releasing worries to divine orchestration. It’s exercising patient faith rather than forcing outcomes—a particular temptation for leaders who feel compelled to make good things happen on their own.

Waiting on the Lord means faith-filled rest: trusting God’s timing and control instead of forcing results. It’s relaxing in the assurance that God is handling the situation, which brings peace despite uncertainty.

God’s schedule and ways surpass human understanding. Waiting on God involves restraining yourself from taking action when you’re uncertain if it’s God’s will.

It’s not passivity, but dynamic trust and submission to God’s sovereign will—stopping our attempts to control outcomes and letting God move first.

This perspective encourages those of us who follow Jesus to patiently endure and entrust our situations to Him rather than succumbing to control or frustration. It’s about trusting the Lord to work and create a result instead of trying to make it happen ourselves.

The word for many of you who are reading this article today is simple: Take your hands off the situation, put it in God’s hands, and wait on Him to do what He does best.

Here are some key Scriptures about waiting on the Lord followed by a message I delivered on the subject that covers wider ground than this article:

Old Testament Texts

Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (ESV)
Isaiah 40:31: “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.” (ESV)
Psalm 37:7: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” (ESV)
Lamentations 3:25: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” (ESV)
Isaiah 30:18: “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you… blessed are all those who wait for him.” (ESV)
Psalm 130:5-6: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.” (ESV)
Psalm 33:20: “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” (ESV)
Psalm 62:5: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” (ESV)
Psalm 37:34: “Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land.” (ESV)
Proverbs 20:22: “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.” (ESV)
Genesis 49:18: “I wait for your salvation, O Lord.” (ESV)
Micah 7:7: “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation.” (ESV)

New Testament Texts

James 5:7-8: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth… You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
James 1:2-4: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect.”
Romans 8:25: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (ESV)
Titus 2:13: “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 1:10: “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (ESV)
Hebrews 10:36: “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (ESV)
2 Peter 3:13: “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (ESV)
Galatians 5:5: “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” (ESV)

Here’s the message: Waiting on the Lord (When the Dream Tarries)

Also check out this discussion with one of my Insurgence Podcast conversation partners on the subject: The Challenge of Waiting on God.

Until next time,

Your brother on the deeper journey,

About Frank Viola