When was the last time you got what you wanted, without having to wait?

Key points

• “Waiting is one of the hardest things we ever have to do in any season of life,” Ruth said.
• Active trust relies on taking deliberate steps towards trusting God and His goodness.
• “So much of waiting is actually surrendering to what is happening right this minute,” Ruth said.
• Listen to this episode of UNDISTRACTED with Laura Bennett in the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
  

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For many of us, life can feel like an endless series of hurdles, tasks and ultimately, waiting.

Whether we’re waiting for a promotion, to meet ‘the one’ or for a struggle to end, waiting can be tough.

Writer and artist Ruth Chou Simons is all too familiar with the period of ‘now and not yet’. She’s been there so many times in her life that she wrote a book about it aptly titled, Now and Not Yet.

“Waiting is one of the hardest things we ever have to do in any season of life,” said the Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

“Waiting is one of the hardest things we ever have to do in any season of life.”

“But I think especially when you’re full of dreams, when you are full of passion and you’re excited about the future, or you think, ‘these giftings and these talents, I want to do something with my life!’

“Those are all good things, I love meeting somebody who is like, I’ve got these giftings, and I have a dream to do something with it.

“Those are wonderful qualities to have.”

Ruth is passionate encouraging all of us that it’s about active trust, hidden growth and redefining influence.

What is ‘active trust’?

In our hustle-driven culture, where success is often measured by how quickly and effectively we can achieve our goals, waiting can feel like a passive, frustrating state.

However, Ruth presents active trust as a transformative perspective.

“We think that trusting God is like a switch we’re going to turn on… but in my own life, I found that I can really believe that God is good, and I still have to actively choose day by day to preach truth to myself and remind myself what is true,” she said.

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Active trust relies on taking deliberate steps towards trusting God and His goodness.

“If He says He’s going to satisfy us, but we’re still struggling, we need to turn our hearts to Him and say, ‘okay, listen, I give up. I can’t figure it out. I do need You to speak into this.,” Ruth said.

“It’s very difficult to find, but it really does start with choosing, choosing wisely, and I’m a work in progress in that as well.”

But how can growth happen in the unseen?

Ruth believes that periods of apparent inactivity can in fact be times of substantial growth.

We’ve all had seasons when we’ve felt like our efforts aren’t yielding immediate or visible results.

Active trust relies on taking deliberate steps towards trusting God and His goodness.

As a mum of six boys, Ruth explained, “Part of motherhood is that you can’t see immediate results… because part of motherhood is that you don’t have to be blooming to be growing.”

This image of gardening, where plants grow strong roots long before they produce any visible flowers or fruit, is a powerful illustration.

What kind of influence actually matters?

In today’s culture, influence is often equated with visibility. We look at how many followers someone has, or how much engagement on social media. This isn’t real influence, Ruth believes.

“Our culture really trains us to think that being hidden or not having huge public influence… diminishes our impact,” she said.

Yet, she says, the most transformative conversations and relationships often occur away from the public eye, in intimate, personal settings.

“I truly believe even this conversation we’re having right now, the person who’s listening to this conversation will make the greatest impact, not just by sharing it… but by internalizing the truths of what really needs to happen in his or her own life and then going and living that out with somebody else.

“We are such a hustle-driven, goal-driven culture, aren’t we?

“So much of waiting is actually surrendering to what is happening right this minute.”

“And it’s so easy to think that the destination is getting there as fast as we can is the measure of success.

“We’re walking around daily thinking that our good life, the good life, the ideal version of us, is just ahead.

“So much of waiting is not just sitting there going, well, any day now, God, give me what I really want – but really waiting is actually surrendering to what is happening right this minute.”

And in the tough moments? Ruth believes this is where good things can grow.

“We are wired to grow as a result of instability, that when things are chaotic, that’s when we actually, our bodies, our minds are wired to scientifically go into creating new pathways.”

Listen to this episode of UNDISTRACTED with Laura Bennett in the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Article provided with thanks to Laura Bennett. Laura is the host of Hope Afternoons and producer of a number of our podcasts, including UNDISTRACTED with Laura Bennett. 

Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro