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What to Do in God's Waiting Room · Kate’s Devotional Podcast

• 0:00
  music playing
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Kate Dreston and welcome to Kate's Devotional Podcast.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I drop my podcast every Wednesday.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's always a five minute or less devotional to bring you encouragement as we try to live our lives according to the Bible.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: So glad you're here.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk today about waiting rooms.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: We've all been in a waiting room at one time or another.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm no stranger to waiting rooms.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: I spent several years as a volunteer in my local hospital's ICU waiting room.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I assisted visitors who had loved ones in the intensive care unit.
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  SPEAKER_00: The visitors I dealt with felt helpless while they waited.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some only had to wait for a day or two, but there were others that were there for weeks.
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  SPEAKER_00: And back when I was doing this, they had time limits on how long a visitor could stay with a patient.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they were only allowed in their rooms for like an hour at a time.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was all dependent on the patient's condition, but they rarely let visitors in the room all day.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Nowadays I know it's different.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Visitors had to spend a lot of time in my waiting room where there was just a TV, some chairs, and a coffee station.
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  SPEAKER_00: There wasn't much to do but just wait.
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  SPEAKER_00: Joseph was one of many people in the Bible who found himself in life's waiting room.
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  SPEAKER_00: His waiting room had no TV and certainly no coffee machine.
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  SPEAKER_00: He was in jail.
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  SPEAKER_00: He spent 13 years in jail for a crime he didn't even commit.
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  SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine?
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  SPEAKER_00: I would think that he would have become bitter and forsaken God, but he didn't.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think we can learn four things from Joseph's waiting experience for when we're in a season of waiting.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number one, trust God.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph didn't know how long he'd be in that prison or if he would ever be free again, but he didn't let his circumstances break his faith, which I think is pretty incredible.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: All those years is a long time.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: When we can't see God's plan, we've got to trust that He's still working.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: We've got to keep in mind that whatever our outcome, God's ways are higher than our ways.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: That comes from the verse in Isaiah 55 9.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number two, we need to have patience.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Psalms 27 14 says, and I'm going to read out of the New King James Version, Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: After 11 long years, Joseph finally thought he had his get-out-of-jail-free card.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: He had a chance to be released when he interpreted the cupbearer's dream.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: The cupbearer was supposed to put in a good word for Joseph when he got reinstated to his position for the king, but he totally left Joseph in the dust.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that must have been devastating to get his hopes up only to be forgotten.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: You'd think that Joseph would have been thinking God had forgotten him too.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: It would be another two years before Joseph was going to be released from prison.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we can't see the big picture.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: God doesn't work on our timetables.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to be patient and have perseverance.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number three, we have to rely on God's strength.
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  SPEAKER_00: God's strength will sustain us through the waiting process.
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  SPEAKER_00: And if we try to do it in our own power, we're going to fail.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our strength is fragile, but his strength is so strong.
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  SPEAKER_00: Do we honestly think that Joseph could hold on for 13 years, waking up day in and day out in that prison?
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  SPEAKER_00: No way.
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  SPEAKER_00: God's the only thing that got Joseph through.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it has to be God's strength and not our own.
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  SPEAKER_00: Number four.
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  SPEAKER_00: The last thing we can learn from Joseph is to be faithful while we wait.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: God used Joseph during his time in jail.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: God made it so that the warden put Joseph in charge of many of the prisoners.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't even concerned with anything that was under Joseph's duties.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: God blessed Joseph.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: He worked hard, and he showed integrity, and he was responsible.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: He did his best in the situation he was given, and I think we're called to do the same.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever situation God has given us, he expects us to be a witness, to represent our Heavenly Father in the work that we do.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's wrap this up.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: We need to remember that sitting in God's waiting room is never a waste of time.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget, we're never alone in that waiting room either.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us there is purpose and meaning in every day of our lives, whether we're waiting or not.
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  SPEAKER_00: So if you're waiting on God for something today, maybe you're waiting for that positive pregnancy test or maybe you're waiting to hear back from a job interview.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're waiting for God to answer your prayer.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's remember four things.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: We've got to trust God.
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  SPEAKER_00: We've got to have patience.
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  SPEAKER_00: We have to rely on God's strength and we have to be faithful to do what God wants us to do in the meantime.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to get through this because God's got a plan for us.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you want more of my podcasts or written devotionals, check out my free Substack account at katedreston.substack.com.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Make it a great day and thanks for listening.