What NOT to Do in a Waiting Season

An ad recently coined the phrase “show hole” to describe the bored, empty feeling you get after binge-watching to the end of a TV series. After so many days and days of completely investing in the characters and their lives, the end of a beloved series can come with a feeling of grief, almost like the loss of a friend. Lately, I have been experiencing some of those same bored, empty feelings. I just keep thinking “spiritual show hole.” Having just come out of three spiritual seasons in a row that were packed with meaning and purpose in my life, the past few weeks have felt completely aimless, unproductive, and agitating. I tried a few things to get rid of the feelings and learned the hard way what NOT to do (and what to do) in a season of waiting.

I Tried to Pray

The first time I realized that something was amiss was when I just wasn’t hearing anything from the Lord. Reading the Bible was dry and lifeless, and He hadn’t given me a blog idea for weeks. Of course, I was praying. I even got some of my friends from church to pray for me.  Regular praying and even shameless begging seemed to have no effect. I did all the usual examining of myself and repenting for possible sins, but the Lord just wasn’t talking.

To add to that, there was that feeling of a restless agitation. Nothing was happening. I had no projects to work on, no focus. I told a friend that I felt like a hammer on a shelf; I just wanted to hit something! 

Then I Came Up with a Solution

Finally, without even realizing that I was taking definite action, I came up with a solution to get rid of those uncomfortable feelings in my season of waiting. I would just scroll on my cell phone. (Insert facepalm emoji here.) Cute animal videos, comedians, Christian TikTok funnies, memes, political posts, requests for prayer, Christian stories. If it was under a minute and had some sort of entertainment value, I was there. I even picked up a new word game on my phone. Scrolling and game playing. That was my solution. It worked pretty well for a while.

But then just as I was thinking to myself that I had been on my phone a lot lately, I got a ping from YouTube. Someone made a comment on my “Is Your Phone an Idol?” blog video. Ouch!

God’s Solution Was Better

That was a Sunday afternoon. On the way to church that night, I had the thought that what I had been doing was “self-medicating.” I was just distracting and numbing my mind to keep from feeling those restless feelings. That night, the pastor’s son preached: “A Balm for the Broken.” It was all about how when we lack the peace we need, we need to go to God for the balm, or healing. Temporary fixes don’t last. Only the Lord can give us peace. Okay, wait. Self-medicating…the Lord’s healing.  I think I was getting it. I needed to quit trying to distract myself and just go to the Lord for help with my lack of peace. But that was how NOT to navigate this season of waiting. What exactly was I supposed to be doing during that time?

Here’s How to Wait

Right after that, the Lord gave me a perfect picture. I’m a high school teacher, and a couple of times per year I have to take my turn with hall duty in the morning before school. That involves standing “guard” in a hallway to make sure that kids trying to go from the cafeteria where they are supposed to wait to classrooms have a pass to show permission from a teacher. It lasts from 7:05 to 7:25, and the whole time, it’s just waiting for the bell to ring to go to class. 

For the first few minutes each day, I was on my computer trying to at least take care of business remotely. But in those last few moments when kids started to stack up at the guard station to be closer to the classrooms, I would put everything away to be attentive. The bell could come at any second, so we were all just focused and listening.

It occurred to me that this is exactly how we should behave in a waiting season. After all, seasons are temporary. Unlike hall duty, which is a set amount of time, seasons can last any length, from days to weeks to years. During that time, we should do our best to stay focused on the Lord and listening for the moment He decides to move us into a new season. I don’t know about you, but it really helps me to have that analogy. I’m waiting like I’m listening for a bell.

Navigating a Waiting Season 

Just like natural weather seasons, some spiritual seasons are more comfortable for us than others, and a season of waiting can sometimes be one of the hardest to endure. But the Lord knows what’s best for us and what we will need to be prepared for the next thing He has for us. In those times of waiting, we must stay attentive and lean on the Lord for our peace. In that way, we will be ready when He tells us that it’s time to move us on.

Like to read other blogs about waiting? Try Waiting to Bloom: How Christians Are Like Century Plants. Or, try The Secret to Waiting on God. Please sign up to receive my blog in your email inbox. at the upper right of your screen (or at the bottom on a phone). Also, check out my YouTube Channel where I read the blogs out loud.