‘Waiting’ is a frowned upon word in today’s busy society. At a time where technological advancement has allowed people to do things as swiftly as possible, the idea of waiting seems countercultural. 

These days, our society prides on a busy and a productive life. Don’t believe me? Go to Youtube or Instagram and you’ll see hundreds of ‘life advice’ videos that teach you how to be productive and maximise the 24 hours you have. To sit still and to do ‘nothing’ means you are wasting your time. 

As a result, not only do people get busier in life, they become hurried and impatient. As we try to do things quickly, we also demand others to be quick as well.

Unfortunately, this is how many Christians expect of God. When they pray, they expect God to answer their prayers instantaneously. But such expectation can be dangerous, because it can destroy our relationship with God. It is not that God cannot answer our prayers swiftly. He can, because He is sovereign. But many times He allows His people to wait, because the ‘waiting season’ is an important season in our spiritual journey.

And that is why I’m recommending this book, Waiting isn’t A Waste by Mark Vroegop. In this short book, Vroegop explores the characteristics of waiting through a biblical lens. He shows the readers what it means to wait and why God allows His people to wait. One of the chapters where Vroegrop writes about waiting intentionally really blessed me when I read it. For one, I always thought of waiting to just be a passive act to do. But this book shows that as Christians, waiting is intended by God for our sanctification. And if waiting is purposeful, it means that we are not meant to wait passively, but to deliberately and intentionally seek God in the midst of the uncertainty. 

Another chapter, waiting collectively, also blesses me because it reminds us that Christians do not live their lives in isolation. The church is united in Christ. And that is supposed to be reflected in our waiting season. We do not have to endure uncertainty individually, but to share the burden with our brothers and sisters, and to help and strengthen each other with prayer and exhortation.

I personally love this book, and this is a book that I will keep on coming back to read once in a while. Even if you do not like reading, Waiting isn’t A Waste is an easy read and a short book, filled with so many practical things on what we can do in our waiting season. I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those that are in that waiting season.