But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

There is a vast difference between hesitancy and uncertainty when it comes to a decision and waiting on the Lord to show you clearly what is His will for your life. So how do you know which is which?

Before I attempt to define that line between the two positions, may I point out that waiting on the Lord is not idleness or indecision. It is a discipline—a difficult one at that—that involves submission to His authority and rule. It violates the mentality that “doing anything is better than doing nothing, that waiting is wasted time and inactivity is the worst thing you can do to solve your problem. We often think that doing the wrong thing is preferable to doing nothing. Not so!

The experience of men of old would disagree. Take, for example the testimony of Isaiah, who said, “Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18). The blessing is that the hand of the Almighty intercedes on your behalf.

Jeremiah lived during a period of international turmoil. His beloved Jerusalem was being overthrown by the vicious armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He watched his own people being led into captivity in chains and disgrace, yet Jeremiah asserted, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lament. 3:25-26). Underline the words “to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” and remind yourself of this the next time your life gets turned upside down with turmoil.

David, a man after God’s heart, was left waiting for seven years before he grasped the scepter and ruled Israel as God had promised. Seven long years were spent as he lived as a fugitive, wondering whether he would live to see the promise fulfilled. He said, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! (Psalm 27:13-14, NKJV).

Micah, another man who lived during a period of great turmoil, stood rather alone when he said, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord; I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).

OK, you may be thinking, perhaps that waiting business worked for men of old, but what about today? Before you count it lost time or effort, hear out Vance Havner, a modern prophet and man of God who wrote, “Call it what you will, there is a waiting before God that we hurried, modern mortals do not know, that sends a man back to his task with the hand of God upon him in such a fashion that the waters of Jordan part before him. It is not that God puts a premium on fasting and nightlong prayers, and tears, and austerities of the flesh. But he does reward burning desire for His very best—that leaves no stone unturned.”

So how do you know when you are waiting on God or simply being indecisive? When you have earnestly sought God and have a witness deep within your heart (perhaps one you find hard to fully explain or even understand) and know that what prompts you is in accord with Scripture and confirmed by Godly people, you know you have heard from God. You know what you need to do, and waiting a moment beyond that time is indecision. There is a big difference.

Resource reading: Psalm 27