When Waiting Feels All-Consuming: Finding Hope in the Pause
Have you ever felt like your life is on hold—like you’re waiting for something to finally move?
Maybe that “hold” has an end date—next Tuesday, when the doctor gives you your test results.
Or maybe it feels like an endless pause, as you wait for a job change, a spouse, or the healing you so desperately need.
Walking by Candle Light
In this life, waiting can feel like standing on a narrow path with only a candlestick to guide you. You can only see just a foot in front of you, while the darkness around you seems to press in—bringing with it insecurity, fear, and worry.
It’s in these moments that waiting begins to wear on the soul. We start to wonder where God is and why He seems so quiet. But Scripture reminds us again and again that the seasons of waiting are often the very places where God is doing His deepest work—just beneath the surface, in the unseen.
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” — Psalm 27:13–14
Waiting is not wasted time. It’s sacred ground—the in-between space where faith grows roots.
We take only the next step, trusting that He already sees the full path ahead.
What Waiting Can Teach Us
In waiting, we long to run by flashlight—or better yet, in broad daylight so we can see all the way to the horizon- but God invites us to walk by candlelight, trusting Him for the next step. This reliance deepens our faith, even when the way feels unclear. Here’s what these seasons can teach us:
Dependence on God
We live in a culture that values independence. We want to solve our own problems, chart our own paths, and control our destiny. Seasons of waiting challenge that. They force us to realize how little control we actually have.
As painful as that reality is, it’s also where we come to the end of ourselves—and become willing to depend on something eternal.
Waiting is an invitation to recognize our complete dependence on God. It echoes the days when the Israelites depended on God daily for manna and quail. They couldn’t store extra; it would rot by morning. Each day, they were reminded of who God is and that they were safe in His care.
Our waiting does the same. It reminds us who He is—and that we are still safe in His care.
A Call to the Present
When walking by candlelight, you can see only what’s right in front of you. In a high-speed, striving world that loves to ask, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”, a sudden and sharp stop can feel disorienting.
Waiting is an invitation to return to the present. Striving and anxiety drag your thoughts into the future, but waiting calls you back to the now.
For some, that means savoring the beauty that already surrounds you. For others, it may mean building beauty and community right where you are—while you wait for what’s next.
Many believers find comfort in Jeremiah 29:11 because it’s a beautiful promise that God is still at work, even in hard circumstances. But the context of that chapter brings so much more depth.
The promise was given to the Israelites living in exile, longing to return home. Before promising them that he has a plan, God says this:
Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. — Jeremiah 29:5-6
God encouraged them to plant gardens and have families. He wanted them to build a life that reflected His beauty and creativity while they waited and hoped.
In the same way, our waiting invites us to slow down, savor, and even create beauty in the present moment.
Learn How to Wrestle with God
Too often, Christians are quick to say, “Your will be done, God.” This humble obedience is admirable, but when we skip over honest emotion, it can turn into quiet bitterness. Unspoken disappointment and fear begin to fester into deeper wounds.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t submit to God’s plans—it means we must first bring our disappointment, fear, and frustration honestly before Him.
Waiting is an invitation to wrestle with God so that we can move through our emotions and draw near to Him.
The Psalms reflect this pattern over and over again. David cries out to God in anger and pain. He questions, laments, and pleads—and then pivots to remember God’s faithfulness. It’s after the wrestling that he is able to praise.
Even Jesus cries out to God in anguish:
“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’—that is, ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?’” — Matthew 27:46
We are in good company when we wrestle with God. It’s in that wrestling that we experience Him drawing near.
For a deeper discussion, check out this podcast on waiting with hope and why hope is so hard sometimes.
We are Not Alone
When we walk by candlelight, it can feel isolating. Others around us seem to be running under a bright blue sky while we’re still waiting for dawn. The enemy loves to use that isolation—to create shame, doubt, or deeper sorrow. But it’s only an illusion meant to widen the divide between us and others.
Waiting is an invitation to community. You were never meant to walk this life alone. Inviting others into your waiting allows them to share your burden and draw near to you. It’s often the way we tangibly experience the hands of God in our lives.
Community won’t erase the waiting, but it will lighten the load.
Our waiting not only connects us to those around us but also to the great cloud of witnesses—believers throughout history who have wrestled, hoped, and waited before us. Their stories remind us that God’s faithfulness has not changed.
What To Do In the Waiting
Journal the Psalms
A powerful way to practice wrestling with God is through journaling prayers. Write honestly about what you’re feeling, then reflect on His character. Think of these as your own personal psalms.
If that feels too hard at first, start by choosing a psalm that resonates with you and pray or journal through it.
Build Community
You’re not meant to walk this season alone.
If you have a church community, invite them to pray with and for you.
If not, reach out to trusted friends or mentors who can offer wise counsel.
And if you don’t yet have that kind of support, find a local church and start there.
Look for Beauty
Find the beauty around you.
That might mean going outside for a walk and noticing the trees or birds. It could mean starting a gratitude list, naming even one or two small things each day.
The habit of looking for beauty—of noticing God’s small glimmers of grace—will strengthen your faith over time.
Seek Counseling
Walking through seasons of waiting can be hard. Sometimes having a safe, faith-centered space to process your circumstances and find tangible steps toward healing makes all the difference.
If you’re in a season of waiting and need guidance, encouragement, or just someone to hold hope with you, I’d be honored to walk alongside you. Christian counseling can help you process your story, find peace in the waiting, and learn to trust that God is still working.
Waiting may stretch us, test us, and even bring moments of doubt—but it is not wasted. Even when life feels paused, God is quietly at work: strengthening our faith, shaping our hearts, and preparing the path ahead.
Step forward one candlelit step at a time, trusting that God sees the full path and walks with you every inch of the way.
Hi, I’m Donna, a Christian counselor based in San Antonio, Texas. I’m here to help you move toward hope and healing.
I am passionate about helping women navigate seasons of waiting, anxiety, and transition. I believe healing happens when faith and psychology meet. Working together, we can find peace and purpose in God’s timing.
