Waiting with God during Advent

Waiting and waiting well with God aren’t the same, but they often go hand in hand—like a plate of delicious Thanksgiving leftovers that touch even though they aren’t supposed to. In seasons of waiting, time drags—making even roasting a holiday ham seem fast. It often feels like time stands completely still. And during Advent—a season that celebrates the fulfillment of God’s promise through the birth of the Messiah—our own personal waiting can feel especially heavy. It’s a place where grief and joy touch and we learn to wait with God.

Finding Hope in God Through the Pain of Waiting

But there is good in our waiting, and I want to bring you hope today. It is possible to change your perspective on waiting with God from “Why this?” to “We will overcome.” Your long season of waiting ends, but the waiting is not wasted, especially when we wait well with God. 

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 (ESV)

Jesus Knows the Struggle of Waiting

Does the verse from Psalm 27 give you a glimmer of hope? Navigating waiting periods is more than difficult, especially when trying to do it independently.  Jesus knew waiting best: His entire life on earth was a series of stops and waits until His death on the cross, but there are so many accounts in scripture where He pulled away from His ministry to be with His Father, to draw near to Him. 

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,” John 13:3 (ESV). 

What Scripture Teaches Us About God’s Timing

Because of Jesus’ story, our story ends redeemed. During the waiting period, we can hold on to the truth that we came from and will return to our Father, which provides us with the hope we need during Advent.

Our story ends well, even with the seasons of waiting. We are forever navigating trials, either coming out of one or about to return to one. It is the unfortunate fact of living on this side of heaven in a sinful world. But because of God’s promises, we can reassure our faith in waiting times, knowing that He works all things for good. 

 “and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those are calling according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (ESV). 

This verse is often misunderstood. It does not say that all things are good because we love God, but rather the opposite: all things, even with the waiting, will work together for His good and for a bigger purpose. 

I do not know why we were allowed a season of pregnancy loss and consecutive miscarriages—a season of prolonged waiting.

We lost a pregnancy and waited, longing for another chance to carry a child—hoping each time for a full-term birth. A cycle of waiting that took years to overcome. In the middle of the not-yet, I cried out in anguish, saying why God? Why allow this? Indeed, He could take it away, but He didn’t. 

When Grief Resurfaces During the Holidays

I remember one holiday in our waiting season that surprised me: Halloween. I still feel the crisp air and smell of campfires and leaves as cousins gather to trick-or-treat in our picturesque neighborhood, lined with trees and falling leaves. My son was a cow this year, and despite the joyful holiday, I felt none of it. October 31 was more than Halloween for me; it should have been our second child’s due date. 

All I could think about was how I should look like a pumpkin; it took everything I could not to cry.

My husband didn’t remember the due date like I did, nor did those around us. Life is busy. Friends and family grieved with me for a moment, but at this moment, grief resurfaced. Grief is never not there, we simply get better at emotional management. But some emotions we feel, while we are waiting on God, are ever-present. I often went to be early and cried myself asleep. 

What I can reflect on and take away from the past years of waiting is this: even though I screamed in denial, heartache, and anger at God—only to ask for redemption and answers moments later—He remained. Our Lord is a loving, compassionate God who is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

Whenever I felt my feelings were too big for God, I repeated 1 John 3:20. 

Holidays are a season of joy, abundance, and festivity, but it can feel anything but joyful in a season of waiting.

As we enter Advent, where the wait is over, and the Messiah is born, I challenge us to be “both-and.” We can celebrate the truth of the scriptures and grieve our season of waiting. We have the opportunity to flip the script. Instead of sitting in the “why this Lord “, we can ask Him to change our hearts to wait well with Him.

I ask you to challenge yourself with the same questions I asked in our season of waiting. 

How to Wait Well with God During Advent: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself

ONE:What is God teaching you in your season of waiting well with Him? 

• My response to this question was to slow down, take inventory of my heart, and accept the promise that I was not alone. Our God is ever with us, sharing in our experience of waiting. I am not alone in this season; God is with me. 

TWO: How is God asking you to trust Him in your season of waiting well with Him? 

• This was harder for me. I died to my will each morning with the prayer, “Lord, let your will be done. You know the desires of my heart, and I trust your plan for me.” This prayer became one I still repeat today. Transferring control from me to God. This act of freedom led me to know and honestly believe that I am enough, even in my season of waiting. I am enough; God is with and for me. 

THREE: How can you draw near to God during your season of waiting well with Him? 

• God is after our hearts. This season of waiting invites us to lean into God’s goodness and experience His raw and intimate love for us. When I placed my season of waiting at His feet and fixed my eyes on Him, I knew and felt God’s deep love for us. 

God promises that your story will end redeemed because of His son Jesus’s sacrifices on the cross. God loves you deeply and closely, even during your season of waiting. Through Advent, we can feel the pulls of anxiety and uncertainty as we wait. If you are in the middle of the not-yet, trudging onwards in the unknown, I hope you find peace with God, knowing you are never alone, loved, and enough. 

Let’s pray about our season of waiting with God during Advent.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love, the gift of your son, and the fruitfulness of your promises. Lord, waiting is hard, but it is especially grueling during Advent. Lord, I ask you to help us surrender our waiting season to you through Advent and every day we walk together.  Lord, simply put, let your will be done. We ask that your presence be abundant and your truths of redemption ring clear to our ears and hearts as we navigate waiting well with you through Advent. In your name, Amen. 

7 Bible Verses for Waiting with God During Advent

• Psalm 46:10 (ESV) ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will exalt the earth!”
• Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) “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. ”
• Jude 1:21 (ESV) “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
• Micah 7:6 (ESV) “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”
• Psalm 33:20 (ESV) “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”
• Lamentations 3:22 (ESV) “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
• Romans 9:16 (ESV) “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”