It’s important to be tested for hepatitis C and related conditions, and seek treatment as soon as possible and not wait. Early diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible can help prevent further liver damage from occurring.

Even if you’re waiting you can still be proactive. If you are waiting, what are you doing? Do you have a peaceful, calm spirit or are you tied up in knots of worry?

Waiting. It’s never been something I’m good at. I’m ‘let’s get with the program’ type of girl. Chop Chop. I like moving forward. Sometimes I get myself in a mess when I’m moving and should be putting on the brakes.

Waiting does not mean you are not being active in something, but it does mean you have taken a stance to trust more and worry less, while you are waiting for the direction you need to take. Here’s what I mean;

There is power in the pause. There are 5 benefits in waiting.

  1. God gives you time to prepare prayerfully.
  2. God gives you time to seek Him and His wisdom for the situation and not allow your emotions to be in control.
  3. God gives you time to plan purposefully.
  4. God gives the time needed to work ALL things together for your good.
  5. God gives you time to be Thankful, even through the waiting.

There is another gift in waiting. Did you notice the common denominator in the above-mentioned benefits? God gives you time! Yet how we use it can be a benefit to us if we will see it from God’s perspective.

Ponder this special scripture this week.

But those who wait on 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

We see the word ‘Wait’ substituted in different translations of the bible for ‘Hope, or Trust.’ When we unwrap each word the basic meaning is the same, we are relying on Almighty God in His way and timing to provide for us in His divine plan.

There is a purpose in waiting. If we did not ‘wait’ for red lights to turn green, we would be rushing into oncoming traffic, boom, ultimate harm.

If we did not ‘wait’ for God’s timing, we rush ahead of him to take matters into our own hands. I think of standing before Him, after I have placed my cares in His capable hands only to jerk them away from Him because of my impatience and unwillingness to wait on His best for me. I regret the times I have done just that.

But for those times when I have struggled in the waiting room, I think of these verses which brought me the peace I needed to wait and trust in His perfect timing and way;

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” Micah 7:7-8

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

So for those who Wait, for those who Hope, for those who Trust, there is power in the pause. Power in Rest Stops. Power in Waiting, even with Hep C and the outcome.

This entry was originally published in Life Beyond Hep C, and is reprinted with permission.