What to do while we wait for God’s answer.

“How did they get to Paris without me?” my friend said when she got the news from the airline.

Has that happened to you? You reach your destination and your luggage ends up in another part of the world.

Frustrating. But not as much as missing your connecting flight because the previous flight was late.

That happened to me a couple of years ago. The wait for the next flight kept me in the airport for eight long, miserable hours. But you guys know this chica; nothing is miserable when adventure is your middle name.

When I got the news, gloom threatened to come in. But I gripped my white cane and smiled big at the lady across the counter. “Can you tell me where the nearest restaurant is?”

“Not too far,” she said. “It’s that way.”

No doubt, without thinking, she was pointing. Obviously, such gesture meant nothing to this blind chica. So, I did what every sensible blind person would do. I gave another smile. This one said, “I know you can find someone who can help me there.”

The smile worked. And although I said not a word, she called someone who helped me, chatted with me, laughed with me, assigned a waitress to me, and introduce me to another employee who became my friend. Those hours were entertaining and ever so pleasant.

See, friends, that’s how life is. While we’re waiting for that connecting flight between the pain we’re suffering and the victory God promised, gloom can creep up.

And it’s not easy to shake the temptation to give up, curse our fate, complain, and wish for irrational things to take us out of our misery. Have you been there? In the airport of transition, waiting for years for that flight to take you to the destination where answers and solutions await?

Good news: Often it’s in the waiting that God’s strength becomes stronger in us. God’s power becomes vibrant. And His whisper of reassurance becomes more soothing.

No wonder God said, “Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:5-6).

Father, I praise you because your work in me is not complete yet. Your work is still in process. Your hand is still carving, molding, and shaping my life. Remind me to rejoice while I wait, to hope while I ponder, and to count on the outcome while I live each moment. In Jesus’ name, amen.

• What process is God working in your life right now?
• Are you waiting for the answer, solution, and results with joy in your heart?
• How can you uphold the confidence that carries you till the day of triumph?