"I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint. And the Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry" -- Habakkuk 2:1-3.

The Prophet Habakkuk is waiting for an answer from God, he is shown that he must wait in faith for his answer.

During those times, we must wait patiently on the Lord. We know that deep down he is working it out for our good, while it may be underneath, hidden deep in our character.

In due time, God will reveal everything he’s grown in us. Those who wait will never be put to shame. We will never be disappointed.

Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that there is a hidden benefit in waiting. In times of waiting, our souls are revived and our spirit is renewed.

Isaiah wrote, "But they that 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."

It has been a common and popular opinion that the eagle lives and retains his vigor to a great age, and that beyond the common lot of other birds, he molts in his old age and renews his feathers and his youth.

In birds, molting is the periodic replacement of feathers while producing new ones. This is a cyclical process that occurs in phases.

We must understand that while we are waiting, we go through a process of becoming who God wants us to be. What God does in us while we are waiting is as important as what we are waiting for.

Biblical waiting is not a passive waiting around for something to happen that will allow us to escape our troubles. Waiting does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It is not a way to escape unpleasant reality.

In closing, the farmer can wait all summer for his harvest because he has done his work of sowing the seeds. The farmer who waits for God to plow and sow his fields would not only be disappointed but would be guilty of provoking him.

Those who wait for God to do what they do without using any of the means of grace will not only be disappointed.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Philippians 1:6.

Harper is the pastor of Emmanuel New Covenant Ministry and a member of the United Ministerial Alliance.