There have been numerous times in my life when God has told me, "No." Even after I have prayed, fasted and supplicated, it seems that God has answered my faith-filled prayers with a "Maybe" or a gentle "Not yet."
When God responds to my fervent prayers in such a baffling manner, I refer to that time spent in waiting on God as "a meanwhile season" in my life. Let me hasten to admit that some meanwhile seasons in my life have been a mighty and difficult "mean" while.
What do you do when you are in a meanwhile season in life? Do you continue to pray, or do you change direction? Do you stay on your knees, or do you move on?
The meanwhile seasons in life can be frustrating, or they can be fulfilling. When God graciously ushers us into His "Waiting Room", we can either be strengthened, or we can be disheartened. We choose our attitude and our growth patterns when God is working behind the scenes of our lives. And make no mistake about it, while you are waiting, He is indeed working.
When God says, "No," it is wrapped in His eternal goodness. When God responds with a "Not yet, my child," it is blanketed in His providence. When God whispers, "Keep on praying," it is simply and completely because He knows what is best for us, as His beloved children.
It is in the meanwhile season in life that a believer in Christ learns the delightful practice of walking by faith and not by sight. It is when a man of God or a woman of faith spends time in the Waiting Room that he or she is refined to reflect the glorious image of Christ.
Perhaps you, like I, have desired an easy life. I have foolishly desired a life in which all of my prayers are miraculously answered on my time schedule and according to my explicit orders. Thankfully, God has not given to me what I thought that I wanted; rather, He has bestowed what He knew was best for me on His wise schedule.
Waiting is not a modern virtue. We love fast food, microwave meals, "fast forward" and quick fixes. Waiting goes against our modern mindset. God must have known (of course He did!) that waiting would be a challenge for His people in every generation and in every century. God encourages His people to wait throughout the Bible, and He assures of His benefits:
Psalm 27:12 says, "Wait on the Lord; be strong, and may your heart be stout; wait on the Lord."
Isaiah 40:31 says, "Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."
I don't know what you are waiting for today, but I can assure you that behind the wait is a divine purpose. And in spite of the "Not yet, my child," He cares deeply for you. How wonderful to know that He, the Creator of the universe, is listening to your prayers!
If you are currently in the Waiting Room, reflect on God's faithfulness and on His power through every unending day. Your roots will then go deeper into His love, and His perfect peace will miraculously fill your formerly anxious heart. A miracle happens in the Waiting Room for those who choose to pray. Your worry will be replaced with His hope and joy. 
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