Loved in the Waiting: How God Shapes Identity in Delays
- Erin Schwab
- Jan 1
- 4 min read
Living as God’s Beloved – #16 in the Identity Series
There are seasons when it feels like nothing is moving forward.
You pray.
You show up.
You do what you believe God has asked of you.
And still… nothing changes.
The door doesn’t open.
The answer doesn’t come.
The relationship doesn’t shift.
The calling feels paused.
Waiting has a way of stirring questions we don’t always want to ask:
Did I miss something?
Is God withholding something from me?
Am I doing something wrong?
And quietly, the orphan mindset begins to whisper:
If I were more faithful… more capable… more worthy… this wouldn’t take so long.
A Personal Season of Waiting
I remember a season where I waited far longer than I expected — for clarity, for movement, for a sense that something was finally coming together. I had done my part. I had prayed, prepared, trusted. Yet weeks turned into months, and months into a quiet stretch where nothing seemed to advance.
What surprised me most wasn’t just the delay — it was what surfaced in me during the waiting.
Impatience.
Doubt.
Comparison.
Fear that time was being wasted.
Waiting exposed how easily I measured God’s love by visible progress. When things stalled, I felt unsettled — not because God had changed, but because my sense of identity had drifted. It felt all up to me to make it happen.
Waiting Reveals What We Believe About God
Waiting has a way of uncovering our deepest assumptions.
If I believe God is distant, waiting feels like abandonment.
If I believe God is withholding, waiting feels like punishment.
If I believe God is disappointed in me, waiting feels like correction.
But if I believe God is good…
If I trust His heart…
If I remember that I am His beloved…
Then waiting begins to look very different.
The Lie: Waiting Means God Is Withholding
The truth: Waiting is often where God is forming.
Scripture reminds us:
“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”— Psalm 27:14
Waiting isn’t passive.It’s not God pressing pause on your life.
Waiting is often God’s slow, intentional work — strengthening roots before visible growth appears.
Waiting as Formation, Not Punishment
In seasons of delay, God is rarely doing nothing.
He is:
Deepening trust
Loosening our grip on control
Shifting motivation from outcome to obedience
Teaching us to rest rather than strive
Anchoring identity more firmly in Him
Isaiah captures this beautifully:
“Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”— Isaiah 40:31
Notice the promise: renewed strength, not wasted time.
The Orphan Response vs. The Beloved Response
When we live from an orphan mindset, waiting sounds like:
I need to make something happen.
God helps those who help themselves.
If I stop pushing, nothing will change.
When we live as God’s beloved, waiting sounds like:
God is at work even when I can’t see it.
My worth is not measured by momentum.
I am safe to trust God’s timing.
Beloved identity doesn’t eliminate waiting —but it transforms how we experience it.
What Waiting Forms in Us
Waiting can form:
Patience that isn’t rushed by fear
Trust that isn’t dependent on outcomes
Humility that listens rather than demands
Hope anchored in God’s character, not circumstances
A deeper awareness of God’s presence
Often, God is shaping who we are becoming long before He reveals what is coming next.
When Waiting Feels Heavy
If you’re in a season where nothing seems to move forward, hear this:
God is not ignoring you.
He is not punishing you.
He is not disappointed in you.
You are still loved.
You are still chosen.
You are still held.
And your waiting is not wasted.
A Gentle Reflection
Take a moment and ask yourself:
What emotion rises most strongly for me in waiting — fear, frustration, sadness, impatience, or doubt?
What does that emotion reveal about what I believe God is like?
What might God be forming in me during this season?
Closing Prayer
Father, waiting is hard. Teach me to trust Your heart when I don’t understand Your timing. Anchor my identity in Your love, not in progress or outcomes. Help me rest in the truth that You are always at work — even here.
Amen
An Invitation to Walk This Journey Together
If this season of waiting feels heavy — or if you’re longing to live more fully from your identity as God’s beloved — you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Through gospel-centered coaching, I come alongside women who desire deeper peace, clearer perspective, and a more grounded confidence rooted in God’s love.
Together, we create space to listen, reflect, and discern how God is forming you — even in seasons that feel unclear or slow.
If you’re ready to move from striving to resting, from fear to trust, and from confusion to clarity, I would be honored to walk with you.
You are not behind.
You are not forgotten.
And your story is still unfolding in God’s good hands
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