Waiting on God Scripture: When You’re Running Out of Hope
When you’re waiting on God, Scripture can feel like the only solid ground beneath your feet. And some days even that feels shaky.
There have been seasons in my own life when I wondered if God had forgotten my name. When the prayers felt like they were bouncing off the ceiling. When I opened my Bible, desperate for just enough strength to make it through one more day of not yet.
If that’s where you are right now, in the middle of a wait that has gone on far longer than you ever imagined, this post is for you.
My friend Johanna Henderson sat with Acts 4 one morning and found something that stopped her cold. A man who waited forty years for his miracle. Forty years of unanswered prayer. Forty years of waking up the same way he went to sleep. And then Jesus showed up through Peter and John, changing everything.
I think God put this in her heart for you today.
40 Years of Waiting and Praying
I was reading Acts 4 and was so amazed by the verses below. My eyes lingered, and I could not move off two specific words.
Forty years.
“For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign–the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.” Acts 4:21b-22
40 years he waited for a miracle.
40 years his life had not changed.
Hurt. Sadness. Unanswered Prayers. When would his healing come? He must have given up at some time in his life, waiting for things to change. I know I would have. Maybe he was finally apathetic with the lot that life had handed him. But John and Peter were not! When they came on the scene, they came preaching the good news about Jesus’ resurrection.
When they came on the scene, they healed this man in the name of Jesus!
He was Healed in the Name of Jesus!
And what did the “religious” people of their time want to do to them? Encourage? Edify? Exhort? Learn from them? No! Instead, they attempted to stop them from spreading the news about Jesus.
Friends, if we believe that when we are doing God’s good work, only encouragement will come our way, that is not the case. Opposition will come. Keep pressing into the Lord, and pressing forward to do His Good Work! No matter what He has called you to, do it in the name of Jesus! And let all the naysayers go! Do NOT allow their words or actions to hurt your heart or ministry of what the Lord is calling you to do in this journey with Him.
5 Ways to Keep Moving Forward When Nothing Has Changed
- Believing the Lord- no matter the outcome
- Having FIRM faith (Read the complete chapter of Acts 4)
- Not growing weary in doing good
- Shaking the dust off when others’ comments or actions are hindering what God has called you to do
- Keep moving forward in the call of your life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior
I am encouraged by Peter’s firm faith after utterly failing Jesus at the cross. What hope I have in knowing that when I fail, I can get right back up and keep trusting in the Lord and keep moving forward with Him. God does not want us to feel guilty and condemned; He wants us to trust Him and forgive ourselves, others, and keep doing what He has called us to do.
As I sat with this passage, the Lord kept bringing me back to those two words. Forty years. The community knew this man. They had seen him at that gate day after day, and now he was healed, and it was causing a stir. The religious people did not like that one bit.
And this man’s story made me stop and look at that word more closely.
The definition of lame is: “crippled or physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.”
2 Questions to Ask the Holy Spirit to Reveal About Your Waiting Season:
- Do you feel “lame” in a specific area of your life? Do you feel like your faith walk is being crippled by something?
- Truth to Know: Don’t ignore your woundedness. Acknowledge it, and keep praying for healing in the name of Jesus! Ask others to pray with you and for you, and keep trusting the Lord- your healing is coming in the name of Jesus!
- How long have you been waiting to receive healing in a specific area of your life?
- Does it feel like 40 years?
- Has it been 40 years?
- Truth to Know: No matter the time frame or the situation you find yourself in, Jesus wants to heal you!
Waiting on God Scripture: What Psalm 147 Promises You in the Wait
“He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!
The Lord supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust.”Psalm 147: 3-6 (NLT)
However long your wait has been, trust in the beautiful and precious name of JESUS!
He wants you healed.
He wants you restored.
He wants you to live a life that is redeemed.
The Lord loves you so deeply, my friend. I pray that in this very moment, we begin to thank the Lord for the healing that is occurring in our hearts and minds. I pray that as you go through your day, fresh hope will wash over your mind.
“…the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
– Psalm 147: 11 NLT
If you found yourself in these words today, this is your waiting-on-God scripture to save and return to in the hard days. Save this post, share it with someone you know who is in a long wait, and let it be the reminder you both need that forty years is not too long for God. Your miracle has not forgotten your address.
Wait! Before You Go!
Your joy isn’t dependent on your circumstances. As a matter of fact, it’s something far deeper, more meaningful, and everlasting than happi
ness. The encouragement I share here and across all my social media channels equips you to live with that kind of hope and joy every day.
I’d love to be a part of your journey toward a deeper faith — toward holiness AND wholeness. One that nourishes your heart and helps you experience the fullness of God’s love.
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Meet the Author
Johanna Henderson
Johanna Henderson is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. She has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty-six years and has three amazing young men. She enjoys walking, writing, and scrapbook journaling to her Maker.
Johanna is the founder, designer, and writer of Journey with Maker Quarterly Magazine, created for Christian women seeking their Maker in everyday life. She is also the author of a theological book on Job 1:10 titled Hedge of Protection – A Counterfeit Covering.
You can find Johanna on her website, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
