Waiting by the Brook: Learning to Wait Patiently on GodSample

Understanding Brook Experiences

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Psalm 37:25, NIV

The experiences of Elijah illustrate well the waiting patterns that are part of a deepening relationship with God. Like it was for Elijah, the Christian journey is made up of several waiting moments. It can happen while we are waiting for an answer to our prayers, even after God has heard and answered our prayers, or after the promise has been fulfilled in our lives.

Waiting for An Answer. When we ask God for something that we want or need, we often find ourselves waiting for an answer. Elijah had prayed earnestly that God would send a season of drought so that the children of Israel would return to Him (James 5:17). But then the prophet had to wait for God to respond to his request.

Waiting In the Answer: Even when God answered the prophet’s request with a “yes,” and Elijah delivered the message to King Ahab, Elijah found himself directed by God to once again wait on Him beside a drying brook. The brook experience was an answer to Elijah’s prayers, but it involved struggle. It was a challenging waiting season.

Waiting After the Answer: Finally, after an extended season of waiting—sitting by a brook and then waiting at a widow’s house—Elijah returned to the public ministry to which God had called him in spectacular fashion on Mount Carmel. One might assume that Elijah had learned all the lessons he had to learn about waiting on God. He had not. It would take more waiting experiences for Elijah to learn to fully depend on God. It was through the process of this deepening relationship as He waited on God that Elijah was able to receive the great gift that God had in store for Him—an eternal home with Him.

As you reflect on your life experiences, can you see these familiar waiting patterns? You might be in a space now where you are facing new challenges despite how God has worked in your life in the past. You might be wondering, “Will God do it again?” Waiting moments can come to us before, during, and even after answered prayers. The brook experience is about learning to fully depend on God as we navigate the challenges of waiting. Wherever we are in the pattern, God invites us to wait patiently on Him.

Reflect: Describe what it feels like to wait on God for an answer, in the answer, and even after the answer to your prayers. How have these waiting experiences affected your developing relationship with God?