3 Tests You Will Experience in a Waiting Season

If you know from experience that waiting seasons bring unique challenges to our faith that we normally would not face, you are not alone. In today's video, I want to share with you three tests of your faith that you will experience in a waiting season and how to overcome each one. Enjoy!

Waiting is not popular because we often want what we want when we want it, and we usually want it right now. Although, there is something about waiting that develops our faith and makes us spiritually stronger, waiting on God comes with certain challenges and tests that we wouldn't otherwise experience.

In today’s video, I want to share with you three common tests of your faith that you will experience in a waiting season and how to overcome each one.

1. The Test to Give Up

The first test that you will experience in your waiting season is the test to give up. As I said, nobody wants to wait, so the option is to either keep waiting for what you want or to just give up on it altogether. Maybe you’ve experienced this for yourself. 

You've been working on your business and you're waiting for it to grow to a certain point, but you feel like you're always right where you just started. You've been praying over a certain matter for years, but it’s starting to feel like God is silent to this request. And the emotional investment that you've put into waiting, pulls so much out of you that sometimes it just seems easier to just give up.

 Galatians 6:9 gives us the simple, yet not always easy way to overcome the temptation to give up in our waiting season and that’s to just not do it. Just don’t give up. As obvious as that sounds, the intention of the verse is not meant to oversimplify the challenges we face in waiting seasons, but to encourage us in this truth:

There are so many things that I love about this verse. First, we’re reminded not to grow weary. Here's the thing: the test to give up isn't necessarily going to happen overnight. When you first get your hopes up for something that you're waiting for, you're excited about it. You're anticipating it, right?

However, as time goes on, you can start to grow weary. You want to be watchful over your heart in a waiting season. Is it starting to get heavier and heavier as each day and month and year goes on? Because if you're doing what's right and you're waiting for what is good and what God has promised to you, you do not want to grow weary because growing weary will lead you eventually to want to give up. And if you give into that desire, then you will give up and then what will happen? You won't reap in due season. 

The second point that I love about this scripture is that the harvest that we're waiting for, oftentimes doesn't require us to be the smartest or the best or the strongest. It's given to those who simply don't give up.

How long can you wait? How much endurance can you have? 

So how do we overcome the test to want to give up in our waiting seasons? We check our hearts, and make sure that we're not growing weary. Make sure that we're feeding our heart the faith that it needs to keep going, and that we're running a spiritual race of endurance that is fueled by the promises and truth of God so that we don't give up.

conversation. It's not wavering back and forth of “Am I going to give up, am I going to keep going?” No. Decide today not to give up and forfeit the promised harvest of my waiting season.

2. The Test to Take Control

The second test that you will face in a waiting season is the test to take control. Now some of us have what I call a takeover spirit. You’re not worried about waiting anymore because you’re going to step in and make it happen yourself, whether that’s God’s plan or not. God, move out the way because you got this! 

We see this example very clearly in Genesis Chapter 16, where God promises to Abraham that he will be the father of many nations.

But there's just one problem. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, are really old and she is barren. So instead of waiting on this promise, Abraham and Sarah decide to take matters into their own hands. She tells Abraham to sleep with her maidservant Hagar, and have a son. This is what she says in Genesis 16:2:

Yes, I read that correctly. That was not a typo in the Bible. Sarah told her man to go sleep with Hagar so that she could have the baby for them. Now if you thought to yourself that that did not end well, you are absolutely correct. There was bitterness, jealousy, and heartache that was birthed out of Abraham and Sarah's decision to take matters into their own hands and out of the will of God because they were tired of waiting. 

It’s easy to judge Sarah, but how often do we make irrational decisions to take matters into our own hands when we become impatient with God’s way of doing things? And how much more often do we make matters worse when we try to control situations instead of waiting on God?

I don't know who said it, but I love the quote: “there's no safer place to be than the will of God.” If it's God's will right now for you to be in your way in a waiting season, I promise you beloved. You want to stay right here. So how do we overcome the test to take control? We have to be still.

I hope you saw my video called “The Power of a Quiet Spirit” because sometimes in our waiting seasons, the only thing we need to do is be still. And the waiting seasons will burn off our desire to be in control and strengthen us to a surrendered faith that can move mountains.

3. The Test to Lose Faith

The third and final test that we will often face in a waiting season is the test to lose faith. We will be tempted to stop believing what God can and will do as we wait. 

The waiting season sometimes can be very quiet. It can be very lonely. It can be very isolating.  During these times, we can get in our own heads and start asking questions like: “Is God really going to work this out if I do it His way?”

And if we're not careful, we will talk ourselves out of having the faith to stay in that waiting season and to see that waiting season through.

We have to realize this test is not just about what we're waiting for. It's about the faith that it takes to wait. I need you to understand something Beloved. The enemy does not want your marriage. He does not want your money. He does not want your child, your hopes, your dreams, or your home. The enemy may use those things to attack you, but what he really wants is your faith. He wants your faith.

Why? Because your faith in God unlocks all His power in your life. Your faith is what unlocks the same power that rose Jesus from the grave, a power that the enemy knows he has no chance against. So when he sees you in a waiting season, do not be surprised when he comes at you and attacks you in every way possible. He doesn't want your harvest. He wants your faith.

So how do we overcome? We put on the shield of faith. This is why the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:16:

Did you catch that? There are fiery darts coming your way, but it's your faith that will put each one out. That's why the enemy wants you to put down your shield of faith, but when you’re in a waiting season, that’s especially when you need to pick it up. 

Because it’s in this season where you will develop the faith that says “I can't see it, but I know God's working.”  I haven't experienced what I'm waiting for yet, but I know God will do it.” We have to keep our eyes on Christ, so that faith can run deep in our hearts, so that we will not be consumed by our waiting season. 

Historically in battle, soldiers would overwhelm their opponents with large amounts of fiery arrows and the purpose of this massive attack was to confuse their opponent. The purpose of the fire was to set their enemies' shields on fire so that they would put their shield down and open themselves up for attack.

The enemy does the same to us. He overwhelms us with attacks to confuse and frustrate and discourage us, especially when we're in a waiting season. His aim is to prevent us from placing our faith in God, which will open us to even more attacks giving the enemy the advantage.

It’s our faith that helps us to see the flames and still know that we serve a God who can deliver us like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We can say, listen, but if not, we will still serve our God by faith.

What we need to understand about keeping the faith is that faith not only protects us from the attacks, but it diminishes their potency. It completely extinguishes the attack and the flames that the enemy is throwing our way. So even if the flames hit us, they will not destroy us. We’ll then develop a spiritual strength that says:

No matter what you may be facing today, Beloved, no matter what you're waiting on, take up that shield of faith and never put it down. I hope that knowing the types of tests you will face in your waiting season, will help you not to be surprised and caught off guard when they come and you are now encouraged to not give up.  Let go of control, and take up your shield of faith so that you can come out of your waiting season to your harvest season, stronger than ever. 

Now, I would love to hear from you, Beloved. What encouragement would you give to our sisters who are in a waiting season right now? Let's encourage one another in the comments. 

Before you go, I want to invite you to visit belovedwomen.org to download my free video Bible study called” Worry-Free” to discover the 3 lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free so you can start taking steps today to make your heart a home for God. 

For more Beloved encouragement, become a Beloved Women member for unlimited videos to grow your faith, learn God’s Word, and encourage your soul with your Beloved sisters all over the world.

Thank you so much for watching today and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and beloved.