Are We Waiting on God?
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Josuah 1:9 (ESV)
How often have you heard someone say,“I’m waiting on God”? Not in the Psalm 27:14 way, which means allowing God to make our hearts strong. But in a different way – almost as though someone is waiting on God to do something instead of relying on God’s strength to take action themselves?
But what if God isn’t waiting to act, because He’s already chosen to act through His people?
Across Scripture, there’s a pretty clear thread running through God’s story with humanity. Psalm 115:16 reminds us “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth He has given to the children of man.”
God never meant for us to sit on the sidelines. He created us to care for what He made, to lead, to steward, and to play a real role in what happens here on earth.
That’s why “waiting on the Lord” never meant “doing nothing.”
Think about Noah. He didn’t just wait around hoping God would somehow save him. God gave the warning and the instructions—but Noah grabbed the tools. Scripture doesn’t mention angels swinging hammers or cutting wood. It simply says, “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22).
God provided the plan. Noah provided the obedience. If Noah had said, “I’m just waiting on God to protect us,” there wouldn’t have been an ark—and humans wouldn’t have survived.
The same thing happened with Moses. God didn’t come down from heaven and confront Pharaoh Himself. He sent Moses back into Egypt. Moses tried talking his way out of it, but God’s promise wasn’t, “I’ll do it without you.” It was, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12).
God’s presence didn’t replace Moses’ responsibility—it gave Moses the power to act. Freedom for Israel came because someone stepped forward and did what God asked.
David wasn’t different. He didn’t wait for God to strike Goliath down with brimstone. David said, “The battle is the Lord’s”—and then he ran toward the giant (1 Samuel 17:47–48). His faith didn’t replace action; it fueled it. If David had stayed on the hillside waiting for a miracle, Goliath would’ve kept mocking God’s people.
This pattern shows up again and again. Joshua marched instead of waiting for Jericho’s walls to fall on their own. Gideon obeyed even when God reduced his army. Esther didn’t wait for God to change the king’s heart from a distance—she risked her life by walking into the throne room. Over and over, God reveals His will and then trusts people to carry it out.
Sometimes, though, we can live like is the only one responsible God for what happens on earth—and we’re just spectators.
But if that’s true, why does prayer matter? Why does obedience matter? Why does Paul call Satan the “god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4? And why did Jesus come proclaiming God’s kingdom, driving out darkness, healing the broken, and then command his followers to do the same?
Jesus put it plainly: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21). He didn’t send the mission back to heaven. He handed it to his people, to us.
Waiting on God was never an excuse for us to sit idle. It was meant to shape how we act—so we move in step with His will, not ahead of it or apart from it.
James describes it this way, “So faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Faith that never moves, never speaks, never obeys, and never risks isn’t biblical faith—it’s spiritual inertia.
Jesus showed us how to live this out. The Father sent Him, but Jesus walked the roads, taught the crowds, healed the sick, confronted evil, and willingly laid down his life. He prayed constantly, but he also acted decisively.
Then Jesus told his followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). That power wasn’t given for us to stay still. It was God’s gift to continue the mission through ordinary people.
So maybe the real question isn’t, “Are we waiting on God?”
Maybe it’s this: Is God waiting on us?
Waiting can refine our hearts. But obedience is what moves God’s purposes forward.
God has always worked through willing people. Sometimes the miracle we’re waiting for begins the moment we stop waiting and start walking.
May God continuously lead your path