While you’re waiting, God is still working
1. Waiting Prepares Us for What’s Next
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said,“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me.” Jonah 2:1-2 NLT
Waiting is an active process of
God works in us before He works
1. He refines our
2. He reorients our
3. He
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 NLT
2. Waiting Tests Our
in God’s
3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” Jonah 3:3-4 NLT
God’s
Patience in
1. Waiting is a test of our
2. Waiting is a test of our
3. Waiting is a test of our
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
3. Waiting Reveals God’s Mercy and Purpose
9 “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3:9-10 NIV
Waiting isn’t God withholding— it’s God revealing His
God’s mercy shines most
1. It gives us time to
2. It gives us time to
3. It gives God time to
In the waiting, God turns what seems like
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40 NIV
Application:
1.
2.
3.
your timeline
4.
the process
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5 NIV
Personal & Small Group Discussion Questions:
Think of a time when you were impatient with God. Did you surrender your timeline, or push through on your own?
How does Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish allow for Gods mercy?
How has God seen you through a time of waiting? How can you use that to help others?
One of our core values is: Growth is our calling. What can the story of Jonah teach us about growth?