5 Inspiring Bible Stories about Waiting on God’s Promises

This month, we’ve been discussing waiting on God and trusting God’s promises. Below are five Bible stories about waiting on God. Each story illustrates the importance of faith and patience, trusting God’s timing, and how we can effectively wait on His promises. Let these five stories of waiting on God help you stay strong in your faith!

#1: Abraham Waiting for a Son (Genesis 12:1-9)

Abraham left his father’s house and home country to move to a land that God showed Him. In response to his faith, God would bless Abraham’s family to become a powerful nation. Despite having no children of his own, Abraham believed God and move to Canaan. He went through famine, war, and moments of doubt while waiting for God to fulfill His promise. At first, it seemed impossible to Abraham. He had no children and no heir. Yet, he still believed God’s word to him. 

After twenty five years, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, gave birth to a son (Genesis 21:5-7). This miracle helped to assure Abraham that God would one day fulfill His promise to make Abraham’s descendants a great nation, even if Abraham would not be alive to see it. Four hundred years later, God would keep His promise by freeing the nation of Israel, Abraham’s descendants, from slavery in Egypt and establishing them as their own nation (Genesis 15:13).

What We Can Learn:

Abraham’s example of faith and patience while pursuing God’s promises reminds us that we serve an eternal God who works through generations. Waiting on God means that we have to be willing to submit to God’s plans and trust His timing, even if we will not see the full benefit here on Earth. Abraham had this mindset. The Bible tells us that Abraham lived as a foreigner here on Earth for the promise of an eternal kingdom (Hebrews 11:8-16). We, too, need to have an eternal perspective as we wait on God to fulfill His promises over our lives and our families’ lives.

#2: The People of Israel Waiting for Freedom (Exodus 2:23-25)

The people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years before God freed them. They endured forced labor, mandated infanticide, and other unjust treatment. God answered their prayers through the birth of Moses who He would eventually send to free the Israelites. 

It would take multiple signs and wonders, ten plagues, and a devastating defeat of Pharaoh’s army to finally free the Israelites, but God kept His promise. In Exodus 15, the Israelites break out in song to celebrate their freedom from slavery. After four hundred years of suffering, they were not only free but could fearlessly leave Egypt because they knew God would protect and provide for them.

What We Can Learn:

This story in the Bible reminds us that God is faithful. He is a supernatural, omniscient, and powerful God capable of doing anything that He promises. We only have to trust Him. No matter how long the wait, we can rest assured that God is more than able to accomplish what He says.

#3:  Elijah Waiting for a Drought to End (1 Kings 17:1-7; 18:1)

Elijah received a word from God and prophesied that there would be a famine for about three and a half years. As part of his ministry, he dutifully waited for God to share the next part of His plan. God wanted to use Elijah to encourage other believers who were faithful to God even though most of Israel had fallen into idol worship (1 Kings 19:14-18). 

Elijah waited for God to tell him when it would rain again. He then went and confronted Ahab, a wicked king, and the prophets of the false god, Baal. This confrontation ended in a powerful display of God’s power that included the end of the drought. 

What We Can Learn:

Elijah’s story of faith reminds us that waiting will be a part of our call and ministry as Christians. We often think that waiting is something we do because we haven’t found our calling or because we’ve made a mistake. However, as we walk out our faith and commit to serve God, we’ll periodically find ourselves in waiting. In fact, God uses periods of waiting to prepare our hearts and circumstances.

When we understand that God often has a good purpose for waiting, we’ll act similarly to Elijah. We’ll have a positive perspective about our wait and act with faith, patience, and obedience.

#4:  Daniel Waiting to Hear from God (Daniel 10:1-17)

Daniel was a boy when the Babylonian empire conquered Israel. This happened because the Israelites fell into idol worship and God allowed Israel’s defeat in response to their sin. Daniel, like many of his peers, was exiled to Babylon and forced to serve the empire. He became a government official who worked first for the Babylonian empire then for the Persian empire after the Persians defeated the Babylonians.

It was during his time working for the Persian empire that Daniel discovered the prophet Jeremiah’s writings about the Israelites returning to rebuild Israel one day (Jeremiah 29:10-14;  Daniel 9:1-3). He then began to repent for Israel’s sin leading up to the exile and pray for God to fulfill Jeremiah’s prophecy to restore Israel. After waiting twenty one days in fasting and prayer, an angel visits in response to share God’s word regarding Israel and the future.

What We Can Learn:

The Bible tells us that the angel was delayed due to spiritual warfare (Daniel 10:10-14). We often think that God isn’t responding because He doesn’t care or because of our own shortcomings. However, we have to remember that we have an enemy, Satan, who desires to hinder God’s work in our lives. When we pray, an invisible spiritual battle may be taking place and we become partners with God in this battle. For this reason, it’s important to for us to wait prayerfully with faith and patience. 

#5: Modern Day Christians Waiting for Christ’s Return (2 Peter 3:8-13)

Did you know that we are currently waiting on the Lord’s return? According to the Bible, Christ will one day return and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. This message was first preached by Jesus in Matthew 24. During this waiting period, we are called to prepare for Christ’s return by pursuing godly living (2 Peter 3:11-12). We are also called to submit to the Father’s wisdom as He knows when it would be best for Christ to return (Matthew 24:36).

What We Can Learn:

Our current wait reveals an important truth: waiting is a fundamental part of walking in faith with God. This is because we live in a fallen world where sin and death exist, and we can’t fix it alone. Instead, we need to look to God in faith, have patience, and trust Him with our future.

Final Encouragement

If you’re waiting on a promise from God, let these five Bible stories about waiting encourage you! God loves you, is faithful, and is powerful enough to fulfill any promise. As we trust God’s timing, we have an opportunity show our faithfulness, love, and dedication to our Heavenly Father.

Key Takeaways from 5 Inspiring Bible Stories about Waiting on God’s Promises:

• We Must Trust God’s Timing: We serve a God who works through generations, so we’ll need to trust His timing and develop an eternal outlook
• Successfully Waiting Requires Faith and Patience: We have to be patient and trust that God loves us, is faithful, and is capable to do what He has promised
• Waiting Prepares Us: God often uses a season of waiting to refine and strengthen our faith
• Prayer is Essential While Waiting: Like Daniel, we must remain steadfast in prayer even when we don’t receive an immediate answer
• Recognize We Will Always Be Waiting on God: These five Bible stories about waiting reveal the truth that we will always need to rely on God. We must learn to trust God with our future

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Do you have a favorite Bible story about waiting on God? Share it below! And don’t forget to check out other articles to help encourage you while you wait on God.