It’s easy to get anxious, because I only have a tiny scope compared to the one God has. As frustrating as that can be, it’s actually a major blessing. There are solutions I haven’t thought of yet! There are obstacles I don’t even know are around me. (Waiting would be much harder if I knew every obstacle I’d face and when.) Secondly, I’d like to propose that the real question is, “What am I waiting for?”

Sometimes, I feel like I’m just going through a “rough phase” in my relationship with God where He seems more distant and quiet. That’s just not true. God never leaves us, and He never forsakes us. Something, I’ve noticed though, is that I’m not always being quick to listen. When I feel like God isn’t speaking, I ask myself, “What is the last thing He said to me?” Then: “Did I act on it?” If not, that’s a good place to start.

If I was obedient to the last thing He told me to do, I consider the possibility that maybe He just doesn’t want to talk about what I want to talk about right now. I’m not saying that He doesn’t care, because I know that He does. However, His perspective is much higher than mine. He knows the important things, and I can trust that if I need to know, He will tell me. If I feel like God isn’t answering my question, I just try asking another one!

Finally, if I can’t remember the last time the Lord spoke to me, I can at least be sure that He once did, 2000 years ago. That’s right! I’m talking about the Holy Bible… But seriously! I have to remind myself how important it is to be rooted in the Word. The Holy Spirit can bring about so much revelation that I forget what I was worried about. It’s hard to focus on trying to stay patient in the waiting, when I’m  distracted by God’s faithfulness through the ages. Or, even better, He speaks to me through the Word, I gain clarity, and I come to conclusions!

Unless I specifically think that God is telling me I need to wait, I would assume that when He speaks, He wants me to be joyfully and promptly obedient. However, if I do find myself in a season of waiting, I believe that God has a purpose for it. Either way, it’s a matter of obedience. God has everything I need in this season, to prepare me for the next season. I have to remember that if He is asking me to wait, it’s worth it!

Sometimes I have found that the Lord is growing me in wisdom or experience in the waiting. In Luke 2:41-52, Mary and Joseph traveled through Jerusalem for a festival. Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. Three days later Mary and Joseph came back for Jesus and found Him at the temple, sitting with the teachers. His parents were anxiously looking for Him. Jesus obeyed them and left to Nazareth with them. It says in verse 52, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” The next time we see Jesus in the Bible, it’s talking about His baptism just before He begins His ministry. Jesus Himself waited 18 years before starting His ministry, even though He was the Messiah from birth.

Waiting is an opportunity! If I’m waiting for God’s timing for my vision, it’s the perfect time for me to serve someone else’s vision. God puts people in my life for a reason. I can build relationships with those people, and it will not be wasted. If I really want to stay patient in the waiting, I can start by focusing on myself less. Instead, I can fill my time with being attentive to the needs of others. Everyone needs someone to help, pray for, and encourage them. I can be that for them, and they can be that for me when I need it!

Waiting is an investment! A season of waiting is a great time to invest in rest. Resting doesn’t mean that I do nothing. Resting means that I recharge and rejuvenate. I can try new things, find new hobbies, learn new skills, etc. Remember when I said that it’s about obedience? I want to be prayerful about what God wants me to invest my time in. I know He will honor those things, and use them as opportunities later. It’s refreshing how He uses my personal passions.

I hope that this ignited a spark of hope for what your own season of waiting can look like. God is setting up dominoes in your life, so at the right moment you can knock them down and everything will fall into place. You can start at any time, but if you wait until God says to, the results will be much more satisfying. I pray that you feel at peace about the season you’re in, and that that you don’t even have to try to stay patient in the waiting. Just know that even if it feels like it, you won’t be waiting forever.

I was living in Denver a few years ago. One day, we were downtown and there was an outdoor skating rink in the winter, and I see a young man skating. The first thing I noticed was he was a very good skater. He was Arab and had a distinctive look.

More than a week later, we were downtown doing evangelism, and I saw him again and realized that he looked familiar. I didn’t know why I recognized him, but then I remembered. I saw him walking by, I stopped him and said, “Hey, I saw you the other day ice skating. You are really good!” I told him I was impressed. This opened up a great conversation. He went on to tell me a little bit about his life, and I come to find out that he was originally from Saudi Arabia, and that’s where he learned how to ice skate (surprising, right?). He used to teach there! We struck up a conversation.

It soon became that when I went out with our base and did weekly evangelism, he would come with me. He watched us evangelize, pray for people, and tell them about Jesus. Within a couple weeks of him hearing the gospel and seeing us sharing with others, we asked if we could pray for him, and he said yes. He was touched by God to the degree that his whole body was burning. I didn’t know anything about ministering to Muslims, yet he was so impacted that he invited all of his friends from foreign nations to come hang out with us—friends from Saudi Arabia and Japan.

This was my friend Ahmed, and he was my first Muslim friend I ever led to Jesus.

At the time, I wasn’t part of a ministry like ours that focuses on ministering to Muslims. I didn’t know the strategies and tools of sharing Jesus with Muslims. All I knew was to love people and share the most amazing story of what Jesus did on the cross. And it was enough for a beginner to bring a new soul into the kingdom of God.

I saw him one day, I remembered him, and I talked to him. I simply started a conversation. Anybody can do that. Why not go up to someone and give them a compliment or encourage them? It wasn’t an accident that he was out ice skating the day I was there. Whether you are a seasoned apologist in ministering to Muslims or you are simply a lover of Jesus with no context of what Muslims believe, God can and will use you! If we are willing to listen to his voice and risk the awkwardness of talking to a stranger, you never know who you might meet.

Ministering to Muslims is as easy as being friendly and loving people. I didn’t need to know the doctrine or foundations of Islam. God’s word says to simply “love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” God’s love did the rest.

Yes, there is benefit to knowing what Muslims believe, how to defend your faith against objections Muslims have, and strategic ways to share your faith with this people group. In fact, we have an entire school here at YWAM Redding dedicated to this! (click here for more information) But you do not have to wait until you know more to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the unreached.

Pray intentionally. Go out. Be bold

Despite being raised by Christian family that showed me the love of Jesus my whole life, I never accepted it. Instead, I ran from it. By the time I was 16, I was addicted to drugs and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. I was losing my ability to speak and reason, and I was confused all of the time. Often I would remember people talking around me, and I would have no idea what they were talking about and I would take offense. When I would try to speak, I could only speak half a sentence. The last year before I got arrested, I struggled with multiple personalities along with anger. I was too destructive. I was far from God.

One day, I had an encounter with the Lord for the first time in my life. I went to my parents house, despite the rarity of going there. I was there alone, and although I had never had the desire before, something prompted me to turn on worship music. The power of God hit me like a ton of bricks, and i broke down crying. I had believed God was out there, but it wasn’t until this moment that I realized that he loved me and cared about me. I told my parents I would go to rehab.

Then I bailed. I didn’t go.

Two weeks later I was arrested.

I was facing years in prison and realized that if nothing changed, I would either end up in prison for the rest of my life or end up dead. Sitting in my jail cell, I gave my life to the Lord. Immediately I was delivered from mental illness and drug addiction.

Soon, I realized I was able to reason. I could process the difference between right and wrong. I was able to hold conversations with people in a matter of weeks. Within a month, I was able to read about a book a day, and I was able to begin the process of finding out more of who Jesus is and read the Bible. All of which I could not do prior to surrendering my life to God. Jesus had healed me, and for the four months I was in jail, I studied His Word, and discovered so much more of who He is.

When I got out of jail, I joined Teen Challenge, which is a faith based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. For a season of life, I was able to tune out distractions of the world and find my identity in Christ. It was a season of fasting. Fasting from old friends, “worldly” things, and a secular worldview. I only focused on what Jesus is saying.The vocal point of my journey was not so much the addiction, but fixating my heart on Jesus.

I do not believe that once you are an addict, you are always an addict. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that in Him we are a “new creation.” The old has passed away, and the new has come.

When you fix your heart on Jesus, things can’t stay the same. He leads you into entirely new restoration. Allow Jesus to be your fixation. Some things happen immediately. Others take time and renewing your mind. Just focusing on what Jesus is saying. Let Jesus be the only thing that matters. Perk your attention on Jesus.

I went from staying up for weeks on Meth to pursuing the heart of Jesus. As I gave up my drugs to God, I found healing from drug addiction.  I was able to work at Teen Challenge and mentor other people who had been through similar things, and encourage them with the freedom I had found in Christ. I realized it was one thing for God to deliver me, but it was another to watch him deliver others through me. My greatest pain had become a great joy, and what the enemy intended for evil, God turned around to bring glory to His name.

Because of my experiences, I limited myself. I didn’t realize i could live in the regular world. I thought my ministry was limited to helping people find healing from drug addiction. But here I am, doing a Discipleship Training School at YWAM, and I am realizing that there is so much for me. God has been showing me that having gone through addiction doesn’t limit my capacity for ministry. I am realizing through DTS that there is a whole world of possibilities. I am realizing that He sees me and wants to use me, even greater than I ever imagined.

The whole world is in front of you. I have seen some of the most beautiful and creative minds wasted because they have limited themselves. I am realizing through DTS that there is a whole world of possibilities. God sees me and wants to use me. He sees you and wants to use you, too. 

It was Jesus. No rehab, no 12 step program, nothing could bring the freedom but Jesus.

Like I was, you might be seeking to take a season to focus on Jesus. Come dive into a community of people who are like minded and seeking Jesus with their whole heart. 

Be a part of our Discipleship Training School. Your life will never be the same!