Finding Hope When Life Pauses
Waiting can wear us down. When prayers go unanswered… when healing delays… when relationships stall or doors close… it’s easy to feel stuck, frustrated, or even forgotten.
And yet, I’ve noticed that some of the most powerful growth in our spiritual lives happen in the waiting.
I believe we don’t have to just survive the waiting—we can be intentional about how we walk through it.
That’s why I’ve started thinking in terms of what I call a “spiritual waiting room.”
A Spiritual Waiting Room?
You’ve been in a real waiting room before. At the doctor’s office, the DMV, the airport. Some people sit quietly. Others are restless, pacing, or frustrated. Some scroll their phones or bury themselves in a book, while others lean into conversations with loved ones.
Same room. Different postures.
In life, we often find ourselves in seasons where we’re waiting on something that only God can do—healing, provision, direction, restoration. In those moments too, we can choose how we wait.
A spiritual waiting room is:
- A mindset.
- A posture.
- A sacred space where we lean into God instead of pulling away.
It’s where hope is nurtured, not lost.
God Works in the Waiting
Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (NKJV).
Now, I admit—I don’t love waiting. Most of us don’t. But this verse isn’t just telling us to be passive. It’s pointing to a kind of waiting that is full of hope and expectation. That’s the kind of waiting that grows us.
I was at a doctor’s office a couple of years ago. I sat in a waiting room and watched an elderly woman speak gently to her husband. They were right across from me—almost knee to knee. And he leaned over to her and said, “Honey, am I here to see the doctor?”
And she said, “Yes, you are here to see the doctor today. Honey, we’ll be going in just a couple minutes.”
Have a posture of patient confidence that reflects the character of God.
And about 30 seconds later, he said, “Honey, am I here to see the doctor today?” We know what’s going on. And I watched her—over and over and over—for no less than 10 minutes replay this conversation, assuring him. Her calm became his calm. Her peace became his peace.
And I thought, That is the way to be in a waiting room. I mean in the literal sense—not only in the waiting room in front of me—but she went home with that waiting room. That’s the kind of posture we’re invited to have in our spiritual waiting rooms—a posture of patient confidence that reflects the character of God.
How to Create Your Own Waiting Room
You don’t need a literal room, but I do believe in carving out intentional space in your day and in your heart to wait well.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Designate a sacred space.
Maybe it’s a chair by the window. A quiet morning walk. A verse taped to your mirror. Let that place remind you: “Here, I wait with hope.”
2. Fill the space with truth.
God’s Word brings clarity in the fog of delay. “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5 NIV). Speak Scripture into your waiting. Let it remind you what’s true.
3. Be honest with God.
You don’t have to fake peace. God can handle your frustration, your tears, your fears.
But don’t stop there—also invite Him to meet you there. Waiting is easier when you remember Who you’re waiting with.
What Happens in the Waiting Room
I’ve seen it in my own life:
- In seasons of infertility, when Donna and I wondered what God was up to.
- In times of transition and ministry growth, when clarity didn’t come easily.
- In personal challenges that stretched my faith.
God didn’t always give quick answers—but He never wasted the waiting. The waiting room became a place of renewal for me. It proved a place of refining where my heart realigned with His.
Don’t despise the waiting—design it.
Choose a posture that leans into God’s presence, trusts His timing, and builds spiritual muscle you’ll need for what’s next.
If you’re in a waiting room today—emotionally, relationally, spiritually—I want to say this to you clearly:
- I am not forgotten.
- My story isn’t over.
- God is still working, even when it’s silent.
So take a breath. Find your sacred space. Fill it with truth. And wait with hope. Because in God’s timing, the door always opens. And when it does, you’ll be stronger for having waited well.
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