Don’t Give Up: How to Stay Hopeful While Waiting on God
A year ago God gave me a vision of a skeleton. I was deep in prayer, wrestling with doubt when I saw that image. At the time, I was bound but didn’t realize it. I had so much doubt that God would fulfill a certain promise he’d given me that it grew into full-blown unbelief. I was a prisoner of that doubt and it was poisoning my faith.
Are You Seeing Things Correctly?
God told me that the skeleton represented my hope for the promise. In other words, my hope was dead. Honestly, I knew I had doubts but I didn't think my hope was completely dead. As I sat there, coming to terms with my unbelief, I realized He was right. My next step was to accept it so I could confess it and find restoration.
As I cried my heart (and eyes) out to God I asked him to show me where things went wrong. How did I get to this place? Gold told me I wasn't seeing the situation correctly. A whisper from the Holy Spirit said, "You're seeing the situation with disappointment instead of expectation.”. He was right. I was trapped in a toxic thought cycle that magnified the idea that God couldn’t and wouldn’t.
Have you been there? Doubting if what you've been longing and waiting for will ever become your reality? You can’t have hope without faith. We must first believe God can (faith) do something before we can be expectant that He will (hope).
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
What Are You Focusing On?
What fuels disappointment is focusing on what hasn't happened, how things didn't go according to plan, or your unmet timeline. But if we are going to live by faith then we have to believe God at His word. The key is focusing on what He can do instead of what we can see; exalting His power instead of our circumstances.
If you want to live a life that glorifies God then you will find yourself in some seemingly impossible situations. As you wait on God and pursue His will, you have to remember that what you're seeing isn't the whole story. God's working behind the scenes, doing what only He can do. Our waiting process isn’t solely about us obtaining the promise, it's about God undoubtedly receiving the glory.
Over the next few months, I focused on God more than my pain. I allowed Him to renew my mind so that I could feel expectant instead of disappointed. I’d love to tell you that soon after that the promise came to pass, but it didn’t. What came next was felt like a punch in the gut to my faith. Another obstacle and another closed door. I was at the end of my strength and spiritually at a crossroads - believe God for the impossible or believe what my circumstances deemed were possible.
Breakthrough Begins With Confession
And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Mark 9:23-24
On my knees, with tears streaming down my face I chose faith. I felt my feelings and then I worshipped and praised God. I spoke in faith and I thanked Him for His faithfulness. I told God that I trust Him and I know this delay doesn’t void His promise for my life. What I was experiencing didn’t line up with what God said, but for the first time, my faith did.
At that moment I felt something shift. Not physically, but spiritually. It was like a weight was lifted off of me. My situation didn’t change, but my perspective did and my hope came alive.
So how's your faith and hope? If you’re being completely honest, are you seeing your situation with disappointment or expectation?
My breakthrough came when I stopped coming into agreement with doubt and started coming into agreement with faith. I focused on His power instead of my circumstances, watched my words, and guarded my thoughts. I had to ignore the whispers from the enemy and the advice of well-meaning friends who saw my waiting as passive. I continued to hold on to what God told me. They could only believe in what they saw, but the Holy Spirit reminded me that God’s children live by faith, not sight.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
Remember What is True
If you’ve lost faith or hope in the waiting let me remind you of some truths. First, nothing is too hard for God and nothing is outside His power. Take your eyes off the promise and put them on Jesus. Remember who He is and what’s He’s already done. Second, He doesn’t lie or change. He does exactly what He says will. Come out of agreement with the disappointment, doubt, and fear and come into agreement with the Truth of who He is.
God restored my hope, but I had to take a step and make the confession. It felt awful telling God I didn’t trust him. I felt like a “bad” Christian confessing my unbelief. But I wasn’t and He assured me of that. He used my confession and submission to liberate me - set me free from the lies I was believing. He can do the same for you. You just have to be honest and invite him into your situation. He won’t heal what you hide, or restore what you don’t believe is broken. Confess it and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through the deeper heart-work that needs to be done. It will be worth be in the end, and you’ll see God’s faithfulness in a new light.