About the Author

Holley Gerth is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, counselor, and life coach. Her newest release is The Powerful Purpose of Introverts: Why the World Needs You to Be You. She's also wife to Mark, Mom to Lovelle, and Nana to Eula and Clem.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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Comments

  1. Dear Holley,
    Yes, I’m waiting now and, wow, I’m not good at it at all. What helps my heart is trust. I do trust God and His timing. He puts up with my whining and complaining and gently finds ways to quiet my anxious mind just like He did just now by sending you with this helpful reminder. Thank you for being His messenger again.
    Love and Blessings!
    becky

  2. I’ve always been ‘not very good’ at waiting. “Patience is a fruit of the Spirit,” I always tell myself. Yet God KNOWS the exact moment my answer will come and how it will be answered. He gives in His perfect timing. Thanks so much for the reminder.
    My 8yo son is having a tonsillectomy this morning at 11:30. Please pray for him and our family. Thank you.

  3. Your post could not come at a better time for me. We are also waiting, expecting great changes and have great trust that the Lord will continue to bless us.
    Currently riding the bumps in the road,
    Stacie

  4. Awesome Awesome Awesome Post!!!
    So many things I’m dealing with in life right now and God has been working on me ever so slowly…
    Happy Monday! Happy March!!!

  5. Hi Holley! Great post today….I wish we could have coffee together too…..at the beach! 🙂 This really spoke to my heart because I have a little problem (ok, a BIG problem) with waiting. Yes, I know God is working on this with me because it seems that lately I’ve been waiting for a lot of things.
    I LOVE what you wrote about not being able to handle all of our desires at once…that really speaks to me. I’m going to write it down.
    I’m learning to lean on God and give up my need to control the situation. If I need to be in control then I’m basically pushing my trust of God out of the picture. The biggest thing I’m waiting on God for is ‘what next….’ I feel like God is preparing me for I-don’t-know-what and I’d REALLY, REALLY love to know what it is! 🙂
    -Amy

  6. I wish we could have coffee and chat, too. Especially by the sea. Nothing is quite like watching the waves roll in. 🙂
    Today, I am waiting for whatever is next. It’s a good day for me. I’m not jumping up and down with impatience for what’s next. Let’s see how long I can hold on to this sense of calm b/c when I do get myself riled it up, it’s usually wanting something RIGHT NOW.
    Cheers (I’m raising my coffee mug to you)
    Paula

  7. I loved that post – especially this part: “if all the waves came in at once it would be too much for us. We’d drown in our desires.” Absolutely something I needed to hear today. Thank you!

  8. This poem by Amy Carmichael:
    Thou art the Lord who slept on the pillow,
    Thou at the Lord who calmed the raging sea,
    What matter beating wind and tossing billow, if only we are in the boat with thee?
    Hold us quiet through the age long minute, while thou art sleeping and the wind is shrill,
    Can the boat sink while thou art in it?
    Can the heart faint that waiteth on thy will?
    Blessings,
    Stacey

  9. Funny you should ask…I’m reading Sue Monk Kidd’s WHEN THE HEART WAITS and working through Joyce Rupp’s OPEN THE DOOR. Each is talking about waiting. Isn’t it amazing how God keeps us nourished? All three places I go for nourishment have the same theme. Yes, I am waiting as I dig deeper into my relationship with our Father. I am realizing that just being with Him is good because we get to know each other better revealing and discovering new dimensions. What do I do during this time? I listen. I pray. I journal. I continue through my day as usual and the peace continues to grow in me that God’s love is so deep. During the waiting time things are happening–small things that cleanse my spirit of debris accumulated over a lifetime making room for new growth. So I wait. I pray. I listen.

  10. Thank you Holley for this post. I needed to hear this today too…I feel like I messed up GOD’s timing by not listening to Him this weekend and obediently following His instructions. Instead I gave in to the fear and doubt. I did not take that leap of faith and so I repent and trust that His purpose can still be achieved despite my lack of obedience. Thank you GOD that you are so much bigger than we are and that you are in control.

  11. Thank you Holley for your poting today as in all the past days your word shared is in God’s perfect timing.
    You always speak to my heart in such a way that I get from no other.
    Blessings on you today!

  12. The payoffs of waiting are AWESOME! I have waited, and worked hard, and my children (previously abandoned by their mother) have grown in grace and love and attached to me after 7 1/2 long years. God is AWESOME and knows the path we must all endure to reach the goals he has set forth.
    I have also been doing two different duties at my job for the last 1+ years – and with patience will be passing the second set of duties to someone else. Praise God!

  13. Good Morning Holley
    Yes, timing and patience. My Mom always said, “God is Never Early or Late, He is always on Time.” Reading everyones notes also gives hope. Your timing was perfect. Please pray for my sister as she has lung cancer and is going for another biospy sometime this week. I too wish we could physically have that cup of coffee on the beach, but we are in spirit. Thank you again, fran

  14. I’m waiting…and as for what helps my heart, well, it sounds odd, but having those conversations across the ocean that make me hurt all over and yet in a good way knowing that I love them deeply and time will come. And along with that, remembering that I’m where I’m supposed to be for the time being.

  15. Holley,
    Your prayer was a real blessing this morning! Thanks for that! Yes, yielding to God’s rhythm is a life lesson that I continue to relearn and experience. I have done a lot of waiting in recent years but God has always been faithful and I remind myself not to worry because he is in control (that doesn’t make the waiting process less stressful, but I am working on that too). My goal is to make that waiting a joyful experience! The beach is my place to rejuvenate. It is a peaceful yet powerful place…wish I lived close. Yes, it would be wonderful to walk on the beach with you and ponder God’s grace! Please pray for me as I wait to see if I am accepted into a postgrad/doctorate program in nursing (mental/health). What does God have in store for me next?! Can’t wait to see. It’s sure to be a challenge.

  16. Holley:
    Waiting for healing of a back injury that occurred in mid-December. It came on me like a wave at the same time the torrent Winter storms came thundering in. This Winter, the worst to date, with a record-breaking blizzard, damaging ice storm, and several snow storms to follow. I do not remember longing for Spring or needing healing as much as I have this year. In my waiting, I focus on Him – I know change is about to break through, to emerge, to break free with a far greater appreciation of His timing than I have ever had before, as I know it’s more than just the waiting, it’s the work He’s doing inside.

  17. As I prepare my heart, mind and spirit for a 5 day sabbatical that I leave tomorrow for I pray for a life changing journey. Your words of encouragement and inspiration speak to my spirit. I thank you for your gifting and your obedience to follow your calling with God. I ask dear Holley and sisters of this blog for a covering in prayer, to hear and experience God in the most intimate way. To seek his face and rest in HIM. Let the journey begin!

  18. Beautiful, Holley. Waiting has never been my favorite thing, but I’ve sure gotten lots of practice! Blessings to you as you write to our hearts.

  19. Holley,
    I would love to sit and have a cup of coffee with you as well! However, I want you to know that God has ministered to me immensely through your reflections and prayers that remind me that even in the waiting He is with us! One of the areas of my life I have been waiting for God’s direction in is my job search. I just received a call from a place where I was hoping to work and have an interview this Thursday. Please pray for me.
    With gratitude,
    Your sister in Christ

  20. We often forget to understand and know that the holy spirit is a gift from God and that if we just take the time to get to know Him better each and every day we will never walk alone. Learn to trust Him in everything we do and ask in His name, or Lord Christ Jesus!
    Amen!

  21. Good Morning Holley –
    I am listening. I have been praying for a clear answer from God about how to handle some issues that are happening within my family. Your post this morning, was exactly that answer, so I thank you for listening as well. 🙂
    The Lord knows that I am weak, and that I have difficulties being patient, and I so appreciate His patience with me, and His willingness to provide the answers that I need in a way that I can/will hear them. It is such an honor to have a loving Father who will be all things to all of his children. I can feel Him smiling on me as he watches me struggle to let go and surrender completely to his will (just as I smile at my fiercly independent three year old son’s struggles to show Mommy that he is a big boy and can do it himself). 🙂
    And to you Holley, I have only recently discovered your blogs, but you have quickly become a trusted friend. I was led to you on a very trying day when I needed to hear the voice of the Lord clearly. Reading your posts every morning (with my morning coffee of course), always seem to provide me with the perfect insight to face the challenges for that day. You are a blessing to me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  22. Hi Holley,
    This is my first post. I’ve been struggling especially this year and even decided to stop attending my fourth year of bible study as I started having more questions than answers and feeling frustrated not hearing God’s will for me. I thought I was drifting away from God but reading this page is helping me to realize.. I am actually waiting.. like all these sisters here. I should not be so impulsive and impatient but learn to quiet down and know that I am waiting and learn to enjoy the quiet time instead of jumping up and down screaming like a spoiled brat that I am inside. I am 48 already! Yet I’ve always been so impatient. God may be teaching me about “delayed gratification” – something I remember reading about from ‘how to teach kids’ book on PATIENCE. I didn’t heed anything from the book and nothing much of the sort did I teach my own kids except the opposite: “instant gratification” all the time. I have no patience and that’s what God wants me to learn. I feel I’m failing miserably though.. Please pray for me to be in peace as I learn.. and thank you so much for being an angel.

  23. Yes waiting is hard for me too. If I want something done I want it now Lord…now!
    I have wanted to to start a WOMEN LEARNING ABOUT WOMEN IN THE BIBLE, discussion at my home but distance is keeping some from wanting to attend.
    Our church is small in attendance, but even if we have 2-3 that is a start. I called the pastor at home and discussed it with him and he is willing to do all he can to make it come to fruition. So I am praying this works out. We will have no teacher like a regular Bible study…just some women meeting together to discuss women of the Bible.
    My daughter directed me today’s reading in Jesus Calling… received from her in my Christmas stocking.
    When something in your life or thoughts makes you anxious, come to Me and talk about it. Bring Me your prayer and petition with thanksgiving, saying, ‘Thank you Jesus for this opportunity to trust you more.’
    So my prayer is that this will work out. I will try to be patient with His answer.

  24. There are seasons-many of them! So many in fact as you said Holly, we would be overwhelmed by what is before us, so thankfully we see & know “right now”… Thank you for the reminder!
    Be still and know that I am God! Psalms 46:10
    That’s where the trusting begins..

  25. Yes. I’m waiting on several prayer request. Some days discouragement floods in but then I just try to saturate my soul with the Lord and He helps me find my footing again and to remember that His timing is always perfect.

  26. Oh yes, I’m waiting as well and like my fellow posters wrote – patience is not my strong point. I pray daily that God would grant me the patience during this time. I also pray that He gives me the strength to endure. At some point in the future I will look back at this time and be so thankful for what I’ve learned and the strength I’ve gained, but to be in the midst of it is so difficult. I feel like some days I’m just trying to endure until the next day, but I’ve started to have some good days thrown in as well. I know that God is starting to repair my shattered heart and I’ll be whole again soon.

  27. Took a walk on the trail by myself and continued on through a long country road to the end and back. I told God I wished I was at the beach or on top of a mountain and God taught me something, he said if you were on top of a m ountain talking to me you would be looking down at your sorrows. When you walk, you have to look up and around and walking is good for you. I enjoyed the scenery and saw a herd of elk! I had a long sometimes tearful talk with God on that walk. It was good for my soul. God wanted time with me while I wasn’t too busy for Him. I felt His presence and His Love for me. At the end before I was getting into my car, I met a woman I never met before, she asked me if I work and replied… we stood there having a delightful time talking about life and about God. I was deeply encouraged! She wants to meet me again and next time take a walk. We hope to see each other again. She doesn’t know when she will be back, she said maybe next Sunday or during the week. That gives me the initiative to get out for a walk. Isn’t God Good?

  28. Wow! I’ve always had a problem with waiting.OK God, I’ll wait, but could you please hurry up? I’m so glad He doesn’t do things my way or give me everything that I want. I’m such a child in His eyes, so I’m glad He treats me like a good father should…when it’s His time and He’s ready. So I wait. Thank you Lord, for giving us Holley to offer words of wisdom and encouragement. Bless her and her ministry abundantly.

  29. “We yield to your rhythm.
    We who hurry choose to let each answer in our lives have its moment.”
    Oh I loved this. I am in waiting, in life limbo, a familiar territory. And what helps my heart is to know that it is not for me to decide, to control or to orchestrate. It is His job, and I am in good hands.

  30. Dear Sweet Holley,
    Oh yes I am waiting!!! And I pray for you as you wait!! What helps me is that I do know that in GOD’S time…it will come to pass!!! But as I have shared…I do not wait patiently! If I did not have the Lord and did not know that He does answer prayers and get us through things, I think I would have given up!!
    So I am praying. I have also been on the angry side-why did this turn out like that, why did that have to happen, can’t anything go right. What am I suppose to learn from this?!!!! I was kidding myself that I was not angry and resentful..I shared with a counselor recently that I am not resentful anymore and he shared with me at the end of our meeting that I am VERY angry!! So much for living in denial.
    So that is what I am doing now, admitting that I am angry and just fed up. So as in the serenity prayer-I want to let go of what I can not change, change the things that I can…
    Things are going to get better. I know they are. So that is how I am dealing now-I have hope. I thought I had lost it there for a while.
    I have hope for you,too!!
    Enjoy the beach. Thank you for helping me see so many things and sharing your thoughts and God’s word. You are such a blessing!! Just a gift and a joy!
    Love to you my friend,
    Pam

  31. I am waiting right now. I am waiting for my almost 20 year old son to RE commit his life to Christ. He is hurting a lot of people…living very selfishly, has a bad habit of lying, etc. Very discouraging situation.
    What helps my heart is reminding myself of all the prayers that God has answered for me up to this point in my life…all the ways He has proven Himself faithful to me. I can honestly say He has NEVER let me down. I need to continue to pray for my son, but with MORE faith.

  32. I too am waiting–waiting for my husband to have a job again after more than a year of unemployment. I just found your series on INsecurity, and it is so wonderful!!! I am working like crazy trying to “be enough”/make enough/sell enough…I wrestle with trusting God vs. taking back “control”….my version of control really messed up some things this weekend! I am breathing in and out, today, your prayer at the end of the post “i surrender to your ways…let each answer have its time…” Thanks so much for this series! I relate to something in each of the posts! I love that God tells us that we are more than enough in HIS grace and love!!!

  33. This was so encouraging to me Holley, especially the part about all of our desires coming at once. I so often get ahead of the Lord and need to wait for His timing in all things. He has shown Himself faithful in this time and time again with me, yet I still struggle to trust Him completely. Thanks for the reminder.

  34. Thank you, Holley, and all you precious ones who share about your waits. I can easily see that waiting is something most of us must cope with! One thing that helps me as I wait is to worship Him. It helps me to remember all He is and has done and promises yet to do. 🙂 Blessings and love to all of you!

  35. Holley, I can’t tell you how *timely* this post is in my life. Thank you! I just got home from helping a friend move and watching her go through a divorce that I’ve been praying would not happen for about a year. And my heart is so sad and confused about why God’s letting it happen anyway. BUT God is still God and He is still good.
    “And so we wait, watch the shore, trust the hand and heart of the One who brings us what is best in its time.
    Lord, we surrender to your ways.
    We yield to your rythm.
    We who hurry choose to let
    each answer in our lives have its moment.
    Give us your time for everything…
    and help us trust you for all things.
    Amen.”
    Thank you for these words. Truly.

  36. Dear Holley and friends….Can’t tell you how much your daily get-togethers mean to me. I am far away from what was home but home is where I am right now…Spain. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who is waiting. The Lord is so real to me lately and I too am waiting for what He has in store for me. Keep on keeping on and know your words are great to read…makes me feel a lot nearer to like-minded friends.
    God bless you!!

  37. What a beautiful reminder Holley that it is truly not up us or even in our control. I am so not a fan of “waiting” and yet I have been in many seasons (even right now) of waiting. It’s not easy, but I am learning that there is actually action that happens while you wait. Thanks for your sweet words today!

  38. I am waiting to be able to get my beloved husband Matthew a scan to make sure ALL cancer is gone.He had stage 4 cancer in the left side of his face(all sinus cavities,eardrum,left eye)Which was found in March 09.He went through an chemo & radiation treatments.The last scan done was in Oct.09 & only a nickel sized spot was left in the back of his sinus in throat area,which is where it started.I NEED to see a doctor because I have a mole of the right side of my face in the cheek area which is cancer. BUT, we have no insurance and were turned down by medicaid because we are both not disabled!?!
    So,I PRAY~HARD & ask others to do the same.I am still looking to find a way for both of us to be taken care of with these needs.We have many more but these are the 2 most important.
    Holley,Please know I love you and feel like I’ve known you for years!You are REAL & daily
    share Gods Blessings to me daily.May His Peace engulf your life always.

  39. I became ill while working as a school nurse in 1994. The diagnosis was cfids…a chronic and debilitating desease with no hope of cure. Then Jesus spoke…He said healing will come but over a period of time. After many years on the couch with no energy and little ability to do anything, healing began to come. Slowly. Little by little. I have come so far but not all the way yet. One day I will be able once again to live a life that others take for granted. Once again I will be able to be active in church and have friends as I will be able to keep up with life. I know it is coming. While I wait, I thank God for His promises daily out loud…thank you that I have the mind of Christ. Thank you that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You get the idea. I keep my mind focused on all He has done for me by thanking Him daily. It works.

  40. I love this: We who hurry choose to let each answer in our lives have its moment.
    If I had my way, I think all my answers would pile on each other all at once so that I couldn’t even relish a single one of them. Why is this so hard for me to remember in the waiting?
    I simply adore you, Holley. Have a blessed week.

  41. Hi Holley and Everyone…
    Your words are so cute and simple that hits home!
    Thank you God for touching Holley’s mind to write such words of you Wonderful Wisdom.
    In His Name,
    Valarie

  42. Hi holley I’ve been doing a lot of waiting and feel like the seasons are changing. I know our god is a great big god and even in the storms he guides us. Like he has guided me to Reading this blog it had been an amazing encouragement. I appreciate ur personal touch and the realness of us blog showing us ur heart. Waiting isn’t busy but I feel it will be worth it

  43. I still feel inner prompting that I should offer to my brother & future sis-n-law my willingness to sing at their upcoming summer wedding. I have kept this idea to myself for various reasons but mainly because they have alot on their plate right now in regards to house-hunting, wedding planning, etc. I just really feel I’m being directed to let them know about this idea.
    Right now I’ve contacted the fiance’s sister to get her viewpoint about this. She is also musically inclined so it will be interesting to hear her feedback. Continued prayers of discernment about this…. 🙂

  44. I love the warmth of the sun as the morning air gives way to it’s brightness & couple that with the consistancy of the waves upon the shore, heaven on earth- to me. The constant sound of the waves reminds me of how consistant our Savior is. How perfectly balanced the earth is in His harmony, His timing….that’s what waiting is. Like a log floating atop the waves, gently being pushed on a course it doesn’t know, but it allows the current to direct it’s path & doesn’t stress about where it’s going. I’d like to be able to release every care to God that way, thank you for the reminder of His consistancy. blessings dear friend. love kathy

  45. I’ve been told that I have a lot of patience…but I feel that I don’t.
    I’m always wanting something to happen right now, but I usually give in and decide that it’s best to wait for it to happen in it’s time…if it’s supposed to happen.
    Where one can sometimes go wrong is if you try to make it happen, instead of seeking and waiting upon the Lord.
    It’s all about trusting Him.

  46. This post made me cry. wow. That passage from Ecclesiastes-I’ve read it times before-but this time, something was laid out completely on the table. And, it was TRUST. Yes, the times are in my Father’s hands. And, He is so beautiful. The key words He has been speaking to me are “wait” and “timing.” Holley, all I know is that God is beautiful. I can’t put it to words, but I have this incredible knowing and believing that He is up to something incredibly beautiful. We serve such an amazing King. And, I am so thankful that my times are in HIS hands.

  47. Holly
    This scripture from Ecclesiastes is what was on our wedding invitations. It reminds me of God’s faithfulness and how He can see us through what ever He brings into our lives. How exciting He makes life. “And so we wait, watch the shore, trust the hand and heart of one who brings us what is best in its time.”

  48. There are some things, it seems, I have waited my whole life for. It gets difficult at times to scrounge up hope. But when it does, I fall back on Jeremiah 29:11 and hold fast to the fact that God’s Word doesn’t return to Him void. His hands, His shoulders, His back… they are more than strong enough to carry my burdens… if I could just learn to give them to Him and LEAVE them there! He is faithful to carry out His Word. I know He has a future and a hope set up for me. I cling to that.

  49. Hi Holley,
    thanks so much…I’d LOVE to have coffee with you too! Thanks for entering our hearts and ‘homes’ through your gift of encouragement. We are blessed indeed!
    Yes, I’ve been praying for a few years that my son will draw close to Him and that he would find a job outside of home…a place where his skills and gift of writing can be used. I know..as my daughter’s wedding invitation said, “He makes all things beautiful in His time.” So I will continue to trust Him even in the midst of the seeming silences, knowing He knows best!
    Am hoping my husband who is in the US this week will be able to buy a copy of your book Rain on Me.
    THANK YOU SO MUCH for keeping us in your prayers and for helping us look heavenwards!

  50. Holley, I hope you are having a wonderful time at the beach. Savoring and relishing every moment! Give me a spot on a beach and I think I am in heaven! I love this post and it comes after realizing that in my time of waiting, I have recently become a bit hardened. Whether out of some poor coping skill or disappointment, I have had to tearfully repent and come back to saying I trust you Lord – You make all things beautiful in Your time. I pray for each of us here during our periods of waiting that we will find new peace, grace, and endurance as each moment passes. If we stumble, trip, and slip…that we will get back up and trust in the hope and future He has planned for us.

  51. Holley, A dear friend sent me your blog…wow it has already been a great source of encouragement. Thank you. I look forward to reading more each day! Stacey