Chapter 6; Ep 2: Waiting with Expectation: Growing Faith in God's Timing

0:00 Welcome back, my amazing listeners, to Diary of a Black Woman podcast with our devotional series. If you tuned in last time, we kicked things off by talking about asking God with bold faith. Today, we're taking it up a notch. Oh, you know it, the wait. And let me tell you, the waiting room is where your faith is stretched. And sometimes seriously tested. Now, waiting can feel like the hardest part of your spiritual journey, right? You ask and then silence.

0:41 But here's what I want you to hear today. This is what I want you to hear today. The wait is where God is working behind the scenes. We're about to dive into a story of a bold prophet named Habakkuk, who wasn't afraid to ask God the tough questions, and then waited expectantly. Are you ready to grow your faith in the wait? Let's do this. All right, picture this. Habakkuk, a prophet, looked at the chaos around him like we do today. He looked at the chaos around him and said, God, what is going on here?

1:23 That's real, right? I mean, we've all had those moments when life feels out of control and we're like, God, where are you? But here's what makes Habakkuk's story incredible. After he laid this question before the Lord, he didn't walk around frustrated. He positioned himself to wait expectantly. So let's break this down. Waiting on God is not about sitting around twiddling our thumbs. It's about positioning yourself with an expected heart ready to see God move.

2:04 Habakkuk stood on his watchtower ready for God's answer. So today we're going to dive into Habakkuk 1 and 2 and discover how to wait on God with faith, patience, and a spirit of expectation. So let's go into Habakkuk 1 and two and one through four. Excuse me. In these chapters, Habakkuk is real with God. He's bold enough to ask, why do you let this injustice go on? So he's bold enough to go before the Lord. He's looking around and he's saying, why are you letting this injustice go on?

2:49 Why is violence everywhere? In Habakkuk 2.1, we see something powerful. His response to what God says. He said, I will stand at my watch and station myself. I will look to see what he will say to me. This isn't a passive waiting. It is active faith. He's not doubting if God will answer. He's standing at attention, expecting God to show up. How many times have we done that? We've prayed a prayer and then someone says, have you heard from God? And you go like, well, I'm waiting on him. How are you waiting on God? Are you waiting on him with an expectation like Habakkuk?

3:32 He went on his tower and he waited in expectation to see what God would do. It says here, listen, God can handle your questions. Habakkuk didn't sugarcoat anything. He brought his raw, honest feelings to God. And God wants that from you too. But what says Habakkuk apart is his posture of waiting. He wasn't impatiently pacing or giving up. He was waiting like a soldier on duty, ready for God's direction. This is a major lesson for us. So when you ask, get ready to hear.

4:16 Be in a position where your faith is on high alert. Oh, that's good. When you ask, position yourself to hear from God. So sometimes we'll ask a question. I don't know that's you, we'll ask in prayer, and then we'll go on with our other list and never position ourselves during our prayer time, just a silent time to see if God is going to respond to our prayers. If you pray a lot, and some of you are, it is a continual pray. You probably do. Those people who are listening to podcasts about prayer and Bible stuff, you're in an expectation of prayer.

4:59 And so the conversation that you have with God is not like a stop and go. It seems to me in my prayer time, it's an ongoing conversation. So if it's an ongoing conversation that the conversation really never ends, you ever notice that? So you can go to him after. Praying in the morning, you might have a prayer request and you go to him in the evening. This is an ongoing conversation. And I think Habakkuk has that relationship with God where he will have these bold questions, but then he will go as an ongoing conversation and still wait to hear from God because the conversation is going ongoing. It doesn't stop.

5:44 You're not like, you're not praying and then you stop and start another prayer. If you're a prayer, an intercessor, if you're just a prayer and you just pray all the time, the prayer that you have with God is always, always ongoing. Even your dreams are ongoing. Everything has this, it's a storyline. It continues on. But I love this. It says he wasn't impatiently pacing or giving up, excuse me. He was waiting like a soldier on duty, ready for God's direction. This is a major lesson when you ask. Get ready to hear. Get in position to hear.

6:24 Get ready to hear the answer from God. Be in a position where your faith is on high alert. Faith grows in the waiting room. It's not easy, I know, but faith isn't just about believing when things happen fast. It's about trusting God when everything feels low. So James 117 reminds us that every good and perfect gifts come from above. But sometimes those gifts come after a season of waiting. And you know what? The wait isn't a waste of time.

7:05 God's preparing something greater than you can imagine. James 1.17 is your lifeline during the wait. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lives, who does not change like shifting shadows. So what a promise, right? Even when it seems like nothing is happening, God is setting up something perfect in his timing. How powerful is that, right? God is setting something up perfect in his timing.

7:46 So while you wait, hold on to this truth. God's gifts are always good, and he's working things out even when you can't see it. I love what Habakkuk does. Get in a position to hear. Take time to listen to what God has to say. Let's go back over Habakkuk. I love Habakkuk. It says, wait expectantly for God's answer. Waiting can feel like the hardest part of our faith journey. But the truth is, it's in the waiting that God does some of his greatest work in us.

8:32 Habakkuk shows us how to wait expectantly. He asks tough questions and when positioned himself to hear, and then he positions himself to hear from God with confidence. Waiting is never passive. It's the stance of trust, knowing that God's timing is perfect. He is not delayed. He will not delay beyond what is needed. Sometimes when I pray, like this morning, I can say, you know, I had a lot of questions, you know, but then when I sat in the presence of God, It seemed like I just sat there and he answered them without me even saying a word.

9:17 And most of those questions were kind of, you know, they just a lot of questions like Habakkuk, what's going on? Little questions like that. Little questions, just wanted to know what was going on. When is this? When is that? This was kind of busy questions. But once I sat in the presence of God and just sat there quietly, it's like he answered them without me saying a word. In the waiting, in the expectation of wanting to hear, not always opening my mouth. Like, you know, you have the, you know, in a classroom, you always have the student, if they would just listen to the question or take time to listen, they can figure out the answer or how the process works.

10:02 But they got 12 questions in a row, you know, those type of ways that you can go before God. You just kind of sit back and listen. And a lot of times you can hear the scriptures that he wants you to know about the answers because his word is inside of you. Right. You know, and so I love Habakkuk. So waiting in expectation to hear from God, waiting in silence with intentionality just to listen. Not always going before him with a whole lot of questions. Nothing wrong with that. It's a time and a season. But sometimes, like I said, if you're in prayer a lot, the conversation is ongoing.

10:45 And sometimes he answers your questions before you ask them. What are you waiting for right now? whether it's an answer, a breakthrough, or a move of God. Remember that God's silence doesn't mean inactivity. He's preparing something amazing. Say it, amazing. God does amazing things in your way. So just a couple points of encouragement and then some scripture for support. Number one, wait with expectation. Habakkuk waited with faith, in faith, fully expecting God's response. Trust that God is faithful and will answer in his perfect timing.

11:30 Your wait is not wasted. Number two, during the wait, God is strengthening you, preparing your heart and setting things in motion that you cannot see. So don't give up. Position yourself to hear, like Habakkuk. Stand ready and attentive. Keep praying, stay faithful, and be alert for God's voice in unexpected places. I want to repeat that. Position yourself to hear, like Habakkuk. Stand ready, attentive. attentive, keep praying, stay faithful, and be alert for God's voice in unexpected places.

12:14 And he does speak to you, your answer in unexpected places. It might not be while you're sitting there waiting. It could come across. It's always fun. God knows how to get your attention. He knows how to answer your prayers. And he's, I think he enjoys that. It'll give you your answer at these unexpected places, times. Okay, our scripture foundation is Habakkuk 1, 2, and 1 through 4. But any additional scriptures, supporting scriptures, Psalms 27, 14, I read, Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. way for the Lord.

13:00 This encourages bold patience, trusting that God is faithful, even when we don't see immediate results. Isaiah 40, 31, but they who wait for the Lord should renew their strength. They should mount up with wings like eagles. They should run and not be weary. They should walk and not faint. A reminder that waiting on God strengthens us. It's not a passive activity, but a bold stance in trust. And in Lamentations 3, 25-26, it says the Lord is good to those who wait for him.

13:44 To the soul who seeks him, it is good that one should wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord. The scripture calls us to wait with expectation and patience, knowing that God's timing is perfect. I know waiting feels like a grind sometimes, right? But remember this, God's delays are not his denials. And the way he's building your character, strengthening your faith, and setting you up for something beyond what you could not have imagined.

14:26 So as you go through your week, position yourself like Habakkuk. Stand at your watchtower, ready for God's answer because it's coming. So let's do some interactive activities for this week here. So take a moment and ask yourself, what are you waiting for? Are you standing expectantly or are you losing hope? This week, challenge yourself to change your posture in the wait. God's answer is closer than you think. Then I want to challenge you.

15:07 Yeah, got to challenge you. So I dare you this week to position yourself like Habakkuk. Spend time in prayer, expecting God's response, and watch how your perspective shifts. You know, don't leave God's presence so quickly, right? So take a moment, ask yourself, first one is what you're waiting for, and then I want you to wait in expectation. Challenge yourself to change your posture and your wait. So get excited about waiting. Wait for an answer. Then I dare you again to spend time in prayer and just expect a response.

15:48 Expect to hear something from God. You know, many times if I don't hear God during my prayer time, many times I hear him in my dreams. He'll speak to me in my dreams. So he will speak to you. He will speak to you. So next time we're moving on to moving from waiting to action. Because when God speaks, we need to move, right? We're diving into how to respond to God's guidance with boldness, fearless action. You don't want to miss it. So be sure to hit the subscribe button. Until then, stay blessed, stay bold, and keep seeking God's grace.

16:32 Thank you for hanging out with me on Diary of a Black Woman podcast. With our devotional series. In today's episode, you got fired up, but don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear this. And as always, you can find more content and encouragement on our website, diaryofablackwomanllc.com. Till next time, stay strong, stay strong in the weight, and keep walking in grace. Amen, amen.