Waiting Together: Patience, Perspective, and Perseverance in Hope

Devotional

Day 1: God's vision comes in His appointed timing.

Write down the hope God gives and hold it in patient obedience: the vision is meant to be made plain so future generations can run with confidence, even when fulfillment spans years and feels slow; remember God is the one doing the work, so stand at your watchpost and trust the timetable of the One who will not lie. [10:02]

Habakkuk 2:2-4 (ESV)
And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Reflection: What is one long-term, gospel-centered hope you can write down and share with someone younger this week to help them run toward God's promise?

Day 2: Awaiting Christ's return with hopeful expectation.

Keep the blessed hope front and center—Jesus' appearing reframes present pain and fuels encouragement: because Christ will return to establish the new heaven and new earth, believers can live with the assurance that present injustices are not final and can encourage one another from that grounding hope. [05:56]

Titus 2:13 (ESV)
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Reflection: This evening, list three ways the appearing of Christ changes how you view a current worry; choose one and tell a Christian friend tonight how that hope reshapes your response.

Day 3: Waiting on the Lord renews strength.

When weariness presses in, lift your eyes beyond yourself to an eternal perspective: waiting on the Lord can renew strength, produce endurance through trials, and form character and hope—sometimes the pain has a purpose even when it's hard to see, so take steps that reorient your heart toward God rather than toward immediate relief. [06:24]

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
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.

Reflection: When you feel weary today, what one small spiritual practice (prayer, Scripture reading, or brief Sabbath rest) will you commit to that will help you "renew strength," and when will you do it?

Day 4: Humility and submission produce godly patience.

Godly patience is grace in action that grows when humility replaces the drive for control: submit yourself to God, prioritize relationship with Him over compulsive habits or instant gratification, and allow the Spirit's grace to shape a patience that resists quarrels and preserves faithful living even when feelings pull you another way. [13:24]

James 4:6-7 (ESV)
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Reflection: Identify one area where your desire for control fuels impatience (work, family, technology). Today, take one concrete step to submit that area to God (for example, pause a distracting habit for 24 hours, hand a decision over in prayer, or ask someone to pray with you) and note how it affected you.

Day 5: Waiting together prepares us to be served.

This journey of waiting is meant to be shared: the body of Christ walks to the watchtower as a caravan—encouraging songs, mutual care, and faithful presence—and Jesus promises that those who wait awake with one another will be served by the Master, who delights to come and serve his waiting servants. [32:05]

Luke 12:37 (ESV)
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

Reflection: Who in this church could you intentionally "wait with" this week—call or meet them, ask how you can pray, and then pray with them for five minutes? Schedule it for a day within the next three days.

Sermon Summary

Last week we started Advent by looking at how and why we encourage each other: saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, we live as children of light and we hold each other’s hands as we walk. Today we named something that feels especially hard in our time: waiting. We’re used to instant access and control, and neither of those help the soul learn to wait. When we add church language—“waiting on the Lord”—it can feel mysterious or even like one more thing we’re failing at. So we clarified what we’re waiting for: the return of Jesus, our blessed hope, the renewal of all things, the new heavens and the new earth. Scripture gives us that horizon.

From Habakkuk, we learned how to wait. Judah had lost its way; violence and injustice filled the land. Habakkuk brought his doubts to God, then climbed the watchtower to listen. God told him to write the vision because it would take time—longer than one lifetime. That means waiting requires patience. God is doing the work in his time, not ours. Humility and submission grow that patience; grasping for control only feeds quarrels in our hearts.

Waiting also requires perspective. The watchtower moves our eyes off ourselves and onto God. You don’t need a mountaintop—just enough elevation to see the bigger picture. Sometimes the ache of waiting has a purpose: trials produce endurance, character, and hope. We said that with tenderness, because timing matters when hearts are breaking; truth without compassion can wound.

Finally, waiting requires perseverance. Habakkuk questioned and still took his post. The righteous live by faith; faith-driven perseverance preserves and even pleases God. That means honoring the practices that draw us near—worship, community, obedience—especially when we don’t feel like it. Feel your feelings; don’t let them steer your life.

And don’t wait alone. Isolation makes the line feel longer. God places us in a people—the body of Christ—to cultivate patience, perspective, and perseverance together. Think caravans to Jerusalem, singing the Songs of Ascent: “I wait for the Lord… in his word I hope.” We journey together toward the One who promises something staggering: when he returns and finds us awake, he will seat us and serve us. The King we wait for is the King who kneels to serve.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s timing invites humble patience Patience grows when I surrender my impulse to control outcomes and trust that God’s vision will arrive at the appointed time. Writing the vision means remembering his promises when I can’t see movement. Humility—submitting to God’s timing—turns waiting into worship. Impatience shrinks when I believe God is already at work. [10:02]
2. Lift your eyes for eternal perspective Climbing the watchtower is choosing to look beyond self to the God who sees the whole field. Even a small shift of focus—off my timeline and onto his character—can reframe the pain of delay. Scripture teaches that trials can become the furnace of hope, not its enemy. Perspective doesn’t remove pain, but it can reveal purpose. [14:52]
3. Persevere by faith when feelings waver Faith does not deny doubt or sorrow; it keeps showing up in their company. The righteous live by faith—holding a steady course when vision is dim and emotions are thin. Practices that draw us near to God are most vital when desire is weakest. Perseverance preserves because its root is trust in the faithful One. [21:07]
4. Waiting is a community discipline We were never asked to endure alone; God forms us into a people who sing, pray, and carry one another. Isolation stretches every minute; fellowship shortens the line by sharing the load. Patience, perspective, and perseverance grow faster in a circle than in a silo. The body of Christ is how we wait well. [29:17]
5. We wait for the Servant-King Our hope is not merely surviving the delay; it is meeting the Lord who will seat us at his table and serve us. That promise dignifies watchfulness and softens weariness. The One we await is already the One who washed feet and bore the cross. Waiting becomes anticipation when we remember who is coming. [32:05]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:48] - Saved by grace; encourage one another
[01:19] - Why waiting is hard today
[04:04] - What “waiting on the Lord” means
[05:21] - Our blessed hope in Scripture
[06:57] - Habakkuk’s context and complaint
[09:48] - God says, “Write the vision”
[11:25] - Waiting requires humble patience
[14:52] - Waiting requires eternal perspective
[17:17] - When trials shape hope
[19:47] - Waiting requires dogged perseverance
[23:40] - Feelings are real; faith leads
[27:42] - We wait better together
[29:34] - Songs of Ascent: communal waiting
[32:05] - The Servant-King will serve us

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Habakkuk 2:1–4 — 1 I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. 2 And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. 3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. 4 Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Observation Questions

What specific instructions does God give Habakkuk about the vision, and why might God tell him to “write the vision” for future readers? [10:02]
What does Habakkuk mean by taking his stand “at my watchpost” and “station myself on the tower”? How does that posture affect what he hears and sees? [14:52]
Verse 4 concludes, “the righteous shall live by his faith.” In the immediate context of Habakkuk, what concrete behaviors or attitudes would show someone living by faith? [21:07]
Before Habakkuk climbs the tower he brings complaints and questions to God. What kinds of complaints or injustices does the preacher say Habakkuk was seeing (what prompted his waiting and watching)? [09:03]

Interpretation Questions

How does the command to “write the vision” help Habakkuk (and later readers) endure delay? What does this tell the group about God’s purpose for promises that take generations to fulfill? [10:02]
The sermon links humility and submission to godly patience (citing James). How should humility change the way a person responds when they feel tempted to grab control? Give one or two practical examples. [13:24]
The preacher suggests trials can produce endurance, character, and hope (James 1; Romans 5). In what ways might that “purpose in the pain” be true without minimizing real grief? How should a community balance truth and tenderness when someone is suffering? [17:17]
The sermon insists feelings are real but mustn’t dictate faith. What tension does that create for someone whose emotions are overwhelming? What would “letting faith dictate life” look like in a concrete situation of doubt or anger? [26:55]

Application Questions

Identify one area right now where you’re trying to control outcomes (family, work, health, relationships). What is one specific action you will take this week to surrender control to God (a prayer, a confession to someone, a practical step)? [11:25]
When do you most easily lose the “bigger picture” and get stuck looking inward? Pick one small “watchtower” practice you will do this week to lift your eyes to God (e.g., 10 minutes of Scripture each morning, a particular psalm at lunch, a short walk praying). Be specific about when and where. [14:52]
Name a current trial or season of waiting that feels pointless right now. What is one way you can look for endurance or character in that situation this month? What habit will you try to build to help you notice growth (journal once a week, ask an accountability partner, record one small victory)? [17:17]
List spiritual practices you sometimes skip when you don’t “feel like it.” Choose two you will commit to keep up this week (worship, small group, daily Bible, prayer, confession). Specify day/time and who will hold you accountable. [21:07]
Waiting is meant to be done together. Who in this group or church will you invite to “wait with you” — to share struggles and pray weekly? Set a concrete plan: who, when, and how (phone, coffee, Zoom, text check-in). [29:34]
The preacher pointed to Luke 12:37 — the surprising promise that the King will come and serve those who wait. Write one short, hope-filled sentence you can memorize and repeat when you’re weary (for example: “The King will come and serve me”). Share that sentence with the group and say when you’ll use it this week. [32:05]

Sermon Clips

``Waiting on God means that you and I, we have to remember and realize that God is the one doing the work, not you or me. Waiting on God means that you and I need to remember and realize that God is sovereign, that God is the one who is in control. I need to stop trying to take over and be the person in control. I need to be patient. [00:11:29] (22 seconds) #WaitingOnGod

Gaining a spiritual perspective, it doesn't require you to climb a mountaintop. It doesn't require you to go on a monkish retreat, spend 40 days and nights in fasting. It just requires you to take a moment to stop looking at yourself and to start looking at God. See, waiting on the Lord, it requires the right perspective, an eternal perspective. And that eternal perspective comes when our eyes stop focusing on ourselves and focuses on God. [00:16:34] (29 seconds) #EyesOnGod

Living out this kind of perseverance, living righteously, which is what that perseverance means, in spite of pain, in spite of darkness and sadness and loneliness, it happens when we're willing to live by faith. The righteous persevere in a belief that God is perfect, his plan is perfect, he loves you, he loves me, they persevere in spite of doubt, darkness, anger, questions, weariness, the perseverance of the righteous is based on their faith. [00:21:07] (49 seconds) #RighteousPerseverance

Perseverance by our faith. Perseverance in the assurance of things hoped for, in the convictions of things not seen. Perseverance because of our condition, our condition in who we are. We are children chosen by God. Perseverance because of our identity. We are the redeemed sheep of the good shepherd. Perseverance, and this perseverance we are promised results in preservation. [00:22:35] (30 seconds) #ChosenAndRedeemed

Feel your feels. These are legitimate. But here's what I'm asking you to consider. Do not, please, do not let your feelings dictate your life or dictate your faith. See, a dogged perseverance, it comes when we allow ourselves to feel our feelings and we let faith dictate our lives. It means doing the righteous things that will allow us to draw near to God even when I'm not feeling it. [00:26:17] (28 seconds) #FaithOverFeeling

To wait on the Lord, it requires patience, perseverance, perspective, a godly patience, an eternal perspective, and a dogged perseverance. But here's the kicker. Waiting on the Lord by ourselves, even when you have patience, perspective, and perseverance, that's not how God designed it to be. We are to wait on God with one another. [00:27:32] (28 seconds) #WaitWithOthers

Christians struggle to wait for God. And one of the reasons we struggle is because we often try to do it on our own. We try to do it in isolation. It's a very Western mindset. You know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps kind of mentality because it's supposed to be me against the world. That's the way we think. But what Scripture shows us is that we are called to be patient. We are called to gain perspective. We are called to persevere with one another. [00:29:10] (23 seconds) #UnitedInPerseverance

They would sing and say, it is my journey to wait for God, but it is my journey that I do with my sisters and my brothers. See, we're called to do this journey together as family united together by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Together. [00:31:04] (21 seconds) #TogetherInChrist

When we wait on the Lord with one another, this is what we get to look forward to. Jesus wants us to wait for his return so he can serve us. That is mind-blowing to me. He wants us to wait for him so he can wait on us. Just like he did when he humbled himself and knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples just as he did when he humbled himself to die on the cross for our sake. He calls us to wait with one another so that he can serve us. [00:32:20] (34 seconds) #WaitSoHeCanServe

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