Psalm 27:13–14 (ESV): I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

When a plane is in a holding pattern on the runway it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t expect to take flight. Holding patterns allow the air traffic controller to ensure the safety of all flights scheduled for that time-frame. If a plane were to take off without the authorization of air traffic control it would endanger the lives of many passengers. When we are in a holding pattern on the runway we simply trust that those who are in control of the flight are at work to ensure a safe passage to our destination.

Waiting on the Lord is similar. When we are waiting on the Lord it’s easy to lose our patience and begin to wonder what the Lord is up to. The truth of the matter is that when we are waiting on the Lord, He is not only at work to make sure that danger on the horizon is being dealt with but He is also at work inside of our hearts. One of the key things that God is doing when we are in a holding pattern is “a work of preparation.” God removes contaminants from our hearts while we wait. God releases new revelation into our lives while we wait. Waiting is necessary if we want to have in place the mechanisms that are crucial to the season of increase that God is planning to bring to our lives.

James 5:7-8 ESV: Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

The Holy Spirit works to establish our heart in God’s love, truth, and power while we wait. The concept of waiting on the Lord applies not only to the temporal promises of God but they are ultimately rooted in the eternal promise of the return of Jesus Christ. In this life we will face suffering and distress. It is during these times that we not only put our hope in God to provide a temporal breakthrough, but we ultimately put our hope in the glory of Jesus’ return where He will make every crooked thing straight and every wrong thing right.

Philippians 3:20-21- But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

The Christian life is a victorious life over sin, satan, death and hell but the Christian life is not exempt from suffering. We eagerly await the return of Jesus because even though we will experience many victories we still recognize that the world we live in is fallen and is in desperate need of total restoration. We can have a victorious mindset at the same time as recognizing that suffering is something that God uses to cause our hope to be rooted in the glorious life to come. As we wait, God continues to transform our lives into shining beacons of hope and truth so that those who are in the world can inherit the same salvation that we now have.