What does it mean to wait in season? God took what should have been a straightforward cell phone purchase to teach me a lesson.
I needed a new phone. Mine was admittedly old. The battery didn’t hold a charge, calls didn’t always go through, and it froze at random moments. Knowing that I’ve gotten the most use out of my phone, I started shopping for an upgrade. While there were cheaper phones out there, I wanted a specific brand and model because I could trade-in my phone to get some money back. My search began last year during the Black Friday sales. The phone I wanted was on sale, but the trade-in value was dismal. I didn’t want to spend more than $300, and despite the big holiday sale, my ideal phone would’ve cost well above that price with taxes added on. I passed. The sale ended, and phone went back to full price.
The new year came and the brand came out with a surprise sale of my ideal phone. The trade-in value was still dismal, and I knew that a newer model of the phone was about to be released. Surely, the model I wanted would be even more discounted, right? I passed. The sale ended, and the phone went back to full price. The newer model was released and my assumption was wrong. All their phones were selling for full price.
I kicked myself so many times. I missed two big sales because I had this hope and idea that I wouldn’t pay more than the maximum amount I set for myself. Part of me knew that paying less than $300 for a new model phone from this brand was pretty ridiculous, but it’s what I could afford. Not believing how much I missed out, I settled with my dying phone and waited. And waited.
Almost a month later, another sale popped up. I went on the website to check the trade-in value and was shocked. It was $90 more than the previous trade-in value. A quick calculation told me that if I receive the full trade-in value, I would pay below my maximum spending limit. I bought the new phone. Sent in the old one. And I received the full trade-in value!
I came across this Bible verse that revealed a little God lesson I learned through buying my new phone.
”The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none” Deuteronomy 28:12 (NIV).
”In season” stuck out to me. It may seem silly or small, but I was waiting for the blessing of God with my new phone. I did tell Him, albeit offhandedly, that I didn’t want to pay more than $300 for a this specific phone, and a new one at that. Two big sales happened and I didn’t buy the phone because the blessing wasn’t there. But I kicked myself anyway. I lamented and groaned that I missed out, not knowing that the blessing was coming not just in the form of another sale, but as an increase in the trade-in value as well.
I have been waiting for other things much bigger than a phone. Things that I believe God for. Things that God has spoken to me about personally and through other people. Things I can’t make happen on my own. Things I have been waiting for, for years. And it’s been hard. It’s been so hard. The full truth is that I have these moments of panic, anxiety, and fear that I missed out. That life passed me by. That God’s blessings needed more work from me in order for them to happen. This whole tiny adventure of buying a new phone was God’s reminder that He hasn’t forgotten me in my waiting.
My One Word 2024 is Radiate based on Psalm 37:3-7b, and the first part of that last verse goes like this:
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” Psalm 37:7 (a-b, NLT)
Wait for the Lord to act. He will send rain and blessing in season.
What does it mean to wait in season?
Contrary to popular belief, waiting is work. Waiting is hard work. It’s not a twiddling of thumbs. It an exercise of patience. It’s not zoning out. It’s an intentional focus on the parts of life you can control. It’s doing your best with the life you have now, while holding onto your hopes and dreams not yet realized.
It’s embracing your singleness and the desire for marriage.
It’s living your best childless life now while holding onto the hope for children.
It’s creating your ideal home where you are while still having a dream house.
It’s giving your all to the work in front of you and believing that a better opportunity or promotion is coming your way.
It’s doing your best to take care of your health while praying for the kind of healing only God can provide.
Waiting is hard work. Waiting in season means doing the work in the season you’re in, while waiting for the season of God’s blessings. Nobody can say in what way God’s blessings will come or what they will look like, but they will come because God is faithful and His Word is dependable. It may feel like we missed out on some good things that we passed up on, but if God’s peace wasn’t in those blessings, they weren’t for us. The blessings He has for us will come in season. They will come at just the right time. Meanwhile, we do the work of waiting.
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