If you know anything about the long journey to parenthood my husband and I are on, you’ll understand why I was excited to read Betsy Childs Howard’s book Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams are Delayed as soon as I heard about it. When I finally got a chance to sit down and read it, I ended up devouring it in just one day!
The book contains encouragement for anyone playing the waiting game. In particular, the book offers insights into five seasons of waiting: waiting for marriage, a child, healing, a home, or a prodigal. You may fit into just one of those “seasons” that she describes, or none of them. Regardless, this will be an uplifting read for anyone waiting on God. It is filled with gospel hope without guilt trips or sugar-coating.
Here are the three ideas that I found most encouraging from Howard’s book, Seasons of Waiting:
Waiting Has an Eternal Purpose
Every page of this book is filled with reassuring reminders that God always has an eternal purpose for our seasons of waiting: to make us more like Christ. For the Christian, a time of waiting is made to do away with all our notions of our ability to live independently of God: “Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench into our coping mechanisms. It brings us to the end of what we can control and forces us to cry out to God. God doesn’t waste our waiting. He uses it to conform us to the image of his Son (16).” Our seasons of waiting draw us into deeper relationship with God himself, which is infinitely more valuable than anything we are waiting for. “God wants to give you a richer, deeper experience of himself that is more precious than the thing he has withheld from you. God won’t waste your waiting.” (92).
Pain May Be a Part of Waiting Well
Howard doesn’t ignore the deep pain experienced by those who are in a season of waiting. Although Christians should find contentment in God through all circumstances, pain may still be a part of the waiting process: “a persistent longing does not mean that you are indulging in sinful discontentment. The same Paul who wrote that he had learned to be content in every circumstance wrote that he had “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” (Rom. 9:2) when he considered his fellow Jews who had rejected the gospel. Waiting well doesn’t mean waiting without pain (19).” We don’t need to feel guilty when waiting feels painful at times. We can be content, full of faith, and rest in God’s provision and still deeply experience the pain of unfulfilled hopes.
God Provides Grace for the Wait, One Day at a Time
Seasons of waiting can drag on and on. When you’re in the midst of it, the thought of waiting another month, year, decade, or lifetime is horribly overwhelming and defeating. Seasons of Waiting cautions the reader to approach God for fresh grace daily. “It’s a great feeling when you can stock up on food and paper products at a wholesale store and know you won’t have to go back for months. But God doesn’t allow us to stock up on his grace. He gives it to us one day at a time” (88). God will provide enough grace for each day as it comes through, especially through his Word.
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I really can't recommend this book to you enough! If you, like me, struggle to wait on God with faith and patience, I’m sure you will enjoy this uplifting read!
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What encouraging books have you read lately?
