The Sacred Art of Waiting

We live in a world that despises waiting. We avoid it at all costs—paying extra for faster shipping, taking longer routes to avoid traffic lights, and growing impatient in checkout lines. Waiting feels like wasted time, an interruption to our plans. Yet Scripture presents waiting very differently. Waiting is not weakness but worship, not passivity but power. Throughout the biblical story, God’s people have always been marked by waiting: Abraham and Sarah waited for the promised child, Joseph waited in prison, Israel waited for redemption, and all creation waited for the Messiah. Even now, we continue to wait—for Christ’s return, for the fulfillment of His kingdom, and for the restoration of all things. To follow Christ is to become part of a people who wait.

Psalm 62 begins with the words, “For God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation.” That word alone is central. David does not look to wealth, human wisdom, or better circumstances for rescue—he looks to God alone. Written while David was hiding in a cave from his own son, the psalm reveals that waiting is not anxious striving but quiet trust. The Hebrew idea of waiting carries the meaning of stillness, peace, and rest. To wait on God is to stop frantic problem-solving and trust the faithfulness of a Father who has always provided. Like children who sit peacefully at the dinner table because they trust their parents will feed them, believers are invited into a posture of confident dependence upon God.

Life in a fallen world constantly reminds us of our need for Him. There will always be something we wrestle with, someone we struggle with, and some sin we battle against. These realities expose our inability to save ourselves and drive us back to God. Yet while we wait, we are tempted to seek false solutions—placing our hope in people, influence, or financial security. Psalm 62 warns against trusting in human strength or riches, reminding us that no earthly solution can heal what only God can restore. In a culture obsessed with comparison and achievement, true contentment is not found in changed circumstances but in Christ Himself.

So how do we wait on God? First, with helplessness—admitting that only He can do what we cannot. Second, with stillness—ceasing our constant attempts to control and fix everything ourselves. Third, by abiding—lingering in God’s presence through prayer, Scripture, and unhurried communion with Him. Isaiah 40:31 promises that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, mounting up with wings like eagles and walking without fainting. Renewal comes not from striving harder, but from resting in Him. Whatever burden we carry today—fear, broken relationships, financial pressure, illness, or anxiety—God invites us to wait on Him alone. He alone is our rock, our salvation, and our fortress, and He is always worth the wait.

Transformation Group Guide: Waiting on the Lord
Based on Psalm 62

OPENING PRAYER 
Begin by asking God to help your group be still and open to what He wants to teach about waiting. Ask for honesty and vulnerability as you discuss areas where waiting is difficult.

ICEBREAKER
Question: Share about a time when you had to wait for something (in traffic, in line, for news, etc.). How did that make you feel? Are you generally good or bad at waiting?

SERMON RECAP
Pastor Josh taught from Psalm 62 about waiting on the Lord.

Key points included:

• We are a people marked by waiting
• Waiting on God means trusting Him alone—not people or wealth—for solutions
• Waiting involves helplessness, being still, and abiding with God
• God uses waiting to teach us to abide with Him
• Waiting is where we are renewed, not in doing

KEY SCRIPTURES

• Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8 "For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I will not be greatly shaken... For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him."
• Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Pastor Josh said, "We are a people as Christians who are marked by waiting." 

• What does this mean? 
• How does this challenge the American mindset of constant doing and productivity?

In Psalm 62, David repeats the word "alone" when referring to God.

• Why is this significant? 
• What are the things we tend to add to God when seeking solutions?

The Hebrew word for "wait" in this passage is translated as "silence, still, peace, and sleep." 

• How does this change your understanding of what it means to wait on God?

Personal Reflection 

• What did you write on your card during the sermon? 
• What are you currently waiting on that only God can do? (Share as you feel comfortable)

Pastor Josh mentioned two main temptations when waiting:

• Looking to people for answers only God can give
• Looking to money/wealth to solve our problems
• Which of these temptations do you struggle with most? Can you share an example?

Read verse 2: 

• "I will not be greatly shaken." Pastor Josh noted it doesn't say "never shaken." 
• What's the difference? 
• How does this give you permission to struggle while still trusting God?

The sermon mentioned three constants in life:

1. There will always be something we wrestle with
2. There will always be someone we wrestle with
3. There will always be a sin we wrestle with

How does accepting these realities help us wait on God rather than trying to fix everything ourselves?

Going Deeper
Pastor Josh said, "If we are unwilling to wait on God to show up, to heal, to provide, if we always find our way, we may never experience God's love and genuine care for us." 

• What does this mean practically? 
• What do we miss when we refuse to wait?

Verse 8 says, "Pour out your heart before him." 

• How is honest, vulnerable prayer part of waiting well? 
• What keeps you from pouring out your heart to God?

Pastor Josh challenged us that "waiting on God is worship." 

• How can waiting be an act of worship? 
• What would change if you viewed your current season of waiting as worship?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Three Ways to Wait (from the sermon):

• Helplessness/Surrender - Acknowledge you cannot fix this on your own
• Be Still - Stop seeking your own solutions; don't just do something
• Abide - Spend unhurried time with the Lord (more than 5 minutes)

Group Activity:
Take 2-3 minutes of silence right now to practice "waiting in silence" before God
After the silence, share: 

• What was that like for you? 
• Was it uncomfortable? 
• Peaceful? 
• Difficult?

This Week's Challenge: Choose one of the following practices for the coming week:

• Option 1: Daily Abiding Set aside 15-30 minutes each day to sit with Psalm 62. Don't rush. Read it slowly. Journal. Pray. Practice being still.
• Option 2: Helplessness Prayer Each morning this week, start your day by praying: "Lord, I am helpless in [situation]. Only You can do this. I surrender this to You."
• Option 3: Silence Discipline Choose one day this week to take a break from seeking solutions. No calling friends for advice, no googling answers, no planning your way out. Just be still and wait on God.

ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS

• What specific situation do you need to stop trying to fix on your own?
• How will you practice "being still" this week instead of constantly seeking solutions?
• What does "abiding" need to look like in your daily schedule? 
• What might you need to cut out to make room for unhurried time with God?
• Who can you text this week to check in on how your waiting is going?

CLOSING REFLECTION
Pastor Josh's Key Quote: "The secret is Christ in me, not a different set of circumstances."
Final Question: What would change in your life if you truly believed that what you need is more of God, not different circumstances?

CLOSING PRAYER 
Pray as a group:

• For the specific situations people are waiting on God for
• For the discipline to be still and abide
• For trust that God alone is our rock, salvation, and fortress
• That God would renew our strength as we wait on Him
• Consider praying Psalm 62:5-8 together as a closing prayer.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

• Study the life of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) - a biblical example of waiting
• Read other "waiting" passages: Psalm 27:14, 37:34, Lamentations 3:25-26, Habakkuk 2:3
• Journal through Isaiah 40:27-31 this week