For The One Who Is Waiting

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12

If you’ve been reading my writing for any amount of time, you know that a pretty common topic I write about is waiting. And that’s not because I like to wait. I write about waiting because waiting is just about as universal as breathing for us as humans. We’re always waiting on something, no matter what season we’re in.

As I opened my Bible this morning, a loose piece of paper fell out. On it I had scribbled a list of verses that I had labeled “verses on patience and waiting.” So I turned to the first verse on that list in my Bible - Romans 12:12. Once I did, I saw that at the bottom of the page, I had written out the same list of verses with the title “verses on patience and waiting.”

I’m a firm believer that if the Lord puts something in front of me more than once in that short of an amount of time, I need to pay close attention. And so this morning, I felt like He wanted me to share this list of verses with you.

Whatever you are waiting on today, or if you’re struggling to be patient when God is asking you to be still, I pray that you will take the time to read over and meditate on these verses. May you begin committing them to memory, writing them on your heart for the moments when one more second of waiting seems impossible. And as you soak them in, may you be reminded that as you wait, God is with you. He loves you. He’s for you, and He is faithful, even in the midst of all the waiting.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. - Romans 8:25

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. - Psalm 37:7

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. - Ephesians 4:1-2

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. - 1 Corinthians 13:4

Because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. - Romans 5:4 (MSG)

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. - Ecclesiastes 7:8

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. - Hebrews 6:12

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. - Colossians 3:12

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. - Luke 8:15

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. - Psalm 40:1