You're On the Waiting List

For a grossly impatient man, “waiting” sits right at the top of my personal challenge list. God knows this. In fact, I’m convinced He has my name laminated on a clipboard somewhere in heaven under “Patience Training: Eternal Semester.”

• Song Lyrics ♫

  I’ve been stuck in this shadowed hallway, Lord,
  where the clock won’t tick and the wind won’t roar.
  You keep me here in the quiet until the pride burns down,
  until the fear in my chest can’t make another sound.

  You tell me hold steady and trust You again;
  storms make the iron, and iron makes the man.

  I’m on the waiting list,
  where fire refines and faith resists.
  You break me slow, You build me strong,
  teaching my trembling heart its song.
  While I’m waiting, God, You’re working—
  cutting deep, carving more.
  And when You finally call my name,
  I won’t walk out; I’ll soar.

  Every delay is a chisel aimed at my soul,
  carving out the weakness I tried to control.
  Isaiah said the weary rise, and I know it’s true,
  but only when the waiting burns the old man through.

  I’m still on the waiting list,
  hands clenched tight until grace insists.
  When Your river moves and the storm is no more,
  I won’t crawl from the ashes—
  I’ll soar.

The testing seems to never end. You pray, “Lord, give me patience,” and suddenly you’re enrolled in a three-year spiritual waiting list, complete with delays, detours, and the occasional divine silence. It’s enough to make a grown man pace the room like a caffeinated badger.

Why must we be tested again and again?

Well… because we didn’t pass the last one. God, being the kind and persistent Teacher He is, simply says, “That’s okay — study more, practice, try again.”

Not as punishment. As preparation

Waiting isn’t wasted time; it’s training ground. It’s where God sands down the rough edges of our impatience, pride, and panic. It’s where He strengthens the muscles of faith we didn’t know were atrophied. It’s where He teaches us to breathe, trust, and surrender the illusion of control.

Isaiah 40:31 holds the promise that makes it all worth it:

“But they who wait for 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.”

This isn’t passive waiting. This is expectant waiting — the kind that transforms you.

Because while you’re waiting, God is working. While you’re studying, He’s shaping. While you’re “trying again,” He’s preparing you to rise — higher than the impatience, higher than the fear, higher than the timeline you thought you needed.

So if you find yourself in the waiting room again today, don’t assume God forgot your number.

He’s renewing your strength. He’s rearranging your path. And when the time comes, you won’t just move forward — you’ll soar.