If you are in a season of waiting I want to encourage you to not give up hope. There are times we do not understand why we have to wait and why we cannot just get our prayers answered quickly, but it is in those times we have a choice to make. We can allow the circumstances to put a wedge between God and us or we can allow it to grow our faith, trust, and love in Him. The choice is ours to make.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.

I was recently reminded that there are many things we face and we so often pray for God to take the situation away. It is only natural to pray that way. Things get hard and we want the hard parts removed, but there are times we are called to walk through difficult situations and seasons, but when we do we are never alone. God is always right there with us. His grace and mercy are sufficient to see us through even the hardest circumstances.

We may not understand why we are facing what we are facing and we may not even see what He is doing in and through us until we get to the other side of the situation, but it is in those times we must stand firmly on our faith in Him and His character found in His Word. That is why it is so important to have a firm foundation in Him so when the difficult situations come our way they do not break us. They are actually used to make us stronger and more like Him. When we are weak, He is strong, when we decrease, He increases. We can do ALL things through Him and nothing on our own.

2 Corinthians 12:9 but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].

So many people are facing major situations in their lives. Situations that the enemy would love to use in order to break, tear down, cause anxiety, and eventually derail their lives and walk with God completely.

God’s Word shows us that no matter what we are facing we can walk through the situations with His peace. The kind of peace that does not make sense to the world and the kind that can only come from Him—and only comes from a relationship with Him. Without the relationship there is no access to His peace.

God is faithful and no matter what we are facing we never have to walk through it alone. On your best days He is there, and on your worst He is there. He is one prayer away. He wants you to have His peace.

How To Walk In His Peace

1. Relationship with Him. We cultivate a relationship with Him through prayer, reading His Word, and times of worship. Prayer is communication. We talk and then we listen to what He wants to say to us.

2. Refuse the lies of the enemy (demons). Every single time a demon whispers a lie (this situation will never change, you have anxiety, you have depression, your life will never be the same, you cannot win, etc) verbally call it out as a lie and replace it with the truth found in God’s Word. Find scriptures that speak to your situation, who God is, who you are in Him, and begin to speak them over your life and to your situation every single day. Refuse to be who and what the enemy says you are. Also, refuse to look at your situation through the lens of the lies the enemy is speaking. Look at it through the eyes of faith and knowing the character of your Father.

3. Surrender the situation to Him-His plan, will, and purpose and not yours. Do not lean on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge and trust Him. We never have the full picture, but God always does. Sometimes we just have to lay down what we thought life was going to look like and fully trust in God’s plan and His way. Sometimes the miracle does not happen like we think it will and we can easily miss it if we are so stuck in it only being able to happen in a certain way.

4. Don’t try to figure it out. You may never get the answers you are seeking, but release the “need” to know. Walk by faith and not by sight. Decide to trust God no matter what the situation looks like. Trust is a choice and not a feeling. Verbally speak out that you choose to trust Him.

5. Spiritual Warfare. When you are down I can guarantee there are demons who are right there to capitalize on the situation. Use your weapons of warfare and take your mind and territory back. Through Jesus you have authority over the demons. They just hope you never figure that out. It is time to walk in the authority you have been given and send the enemy packing.

One day the Lord showed me that a season of waiting is a season all in itself and that waiting does not lead to stagnation. He preceded to give me a list of things to focus on for the season of waiting. I wanted to share that list with you all because I think it pertains to all of us and not just me. Many of us have found ourselves in a season of waiting. Waiting for a promise, waiting for the next assignment, waiting for the answer to a prayer, waiting to hear from God, waiting for the next season, etc.

Praise and Worship: During seasons of waiting our flesh, the enemy (demons), and our situations will try to tell us that God doesn’t care, that He is not moving on our behalf, and that He isn’t going to answer our prayers, but this is the time to press into His presence even more. We need to spend time with Him where we just worship Him and thank Him for His goodness and for who He is.

Fasting: Fasting does a few things in our lives. It is a great tool to use against demonic attacks, it brings our flesh under submission, it helps us grow and mature in the Lord, and it also helps us to focus on God to better hear His voice.

Waiting: Not the fact that we wait, but how we act while we are waiting. I think of a 2-year-old child who is waiting for his lunch. He may kick, scream, and throw a fit while he is waiting. He is waiting, but he is not doing it very well. We can be the exact same way. We can choose to get impatient, do our own thing, throw a fit, or we can choose to trust God and His timing.

Spiritual Warfare: Using our weapons of warfare is a must because the demons will definitely be attacking our faith by trying to cause us to second guess God, His Word, and what He has spoken to us.

Preparing: This would include asking God what you need to do in order to prepare for the next season, the answer to your prayer, or whatever you are waiting on from Him.

Prayer: Remaining in prayer (communication) with God is so important. During seasons of waiting we can be tempted to get lazy or even just fall into patterns of neglecting our prayer time. Prayer is part of how we maintain intimacy with God and maintain our relationship with Him. It should never be neglected. We need to talk to Him and then also spend time listening to what He wants to say to us.

Learning: Ask Him what He wants you to focus on learning. We should always be reading the Bible, but often times He will lead us to learn about specific topics. Make a habit of asking Him to show you what He wants you to learn and where He wants you to learn it from.

Doing: The season of waiting is not a season of being stagnant. It still involves doing. The doing may be sitting in His presence and learning to rest in Him. It may include learning to surrender your schedule to Him. It can include all kinds of things and you can find out what you can be doing by asking Him what He wants you to focus on.

Seeking: Seeking Him is important in every single season of our lives. In the good times, in the not so good times, in the really fun seasons, in the waiting, and even when we are in the valley. Seeking Him is a must.

Submitting: Submission is foundational to our relationship with God. Ask Him to show you any areas that you need to submit to Him and then actively make the choice to submit them to Him.

Faith and Trust: Seasons of waiting will try to steal our faith and trust. They will often lie to us and say that God is not going to answer, that He doesn’t see or hear us, and that He is not a good Father. We must respond with the Word of God and make the choice to walk by faith and put our full trust in God and His timing for our lives.

Growing: The process of growth is not fun. It can be painful, and it can include pruning. There may be some areas that He wants to grow in us before we move into the next season. Ask Him what areas in your life need to grow, ask Him to help you grow in those areas, and also ask Him to show you what you can do in order to grow in them.

Patience: Not waiting, but HOW we wait. Having patience includes our attitude while we wait. We wait with faith, trust, and a thankful heart. Not anger, bitterness, doubt, and resentment.

Humility: Ask God to show you any areas of pride in your life. Pride will make us unteachable and unreachable because pride will always tell us the issues and problems are with everyone else and not us. Search your heart, ask God to search your heart, and uproot any and all pride. Do the things in your life that will force you to walk in humility.

Walk in His Truth: Spend time in His Word, memorize the Word, and verbally speak it over your life and over your situation.

Fruit of the Spirit: Study the fruit of the Spirit and choose to walk in His fruit and not the fruit of your flesh. Galatians 5: 22-23

Address All Areas of Needed Healing: Ask God to show you any areas in your life that need healing, the root cause of the issues, ask Him to uproot any areas of pain, trauma, rejection, etc., and the effects of those things in your life. Next, ask Him to heal those areas, and then verbally command any demons attached to those areas to leave in the name of Jesus. You may also need some Biblical Holy Spirit led Christian counseling.

Rest in Him: Learn to rest in His presence and in His peace.

Blessings,

Nichole Henson
Fullness of Joy Ministry