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Are You Waiting on God, or Is He Waiting on You?

Are You Waiting on God, or Is He Waiting on You?

Last updated on: October 12, 2026 at 3:24 pm by Mike P. Taylor

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Are You Waiting on God, or Is He Waiting on You? 2026-10-12T15:24:45-05:00 Mike P. Taylor

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What If God Is Waiting for You to Move First?

Whatever you want in your life…are you waiting on God to move or is He waiting on you?

Let me shake up your theology for a moment:

Not everything God blesses begins with a clear assignment from Him.

Sometimes we notice something, care about it, and bring Him an idea. (One could argue that such an idea would be prompted by his Holy Spirit anyways.)

That makes some of us uncomfortable because we would rather wait until we know God is telling us to do something.

I totally get it. You want to be obedient, and you don’t want to get ahead of what God is doing. So you pray, you search for confirmation, and you wonder whether your desire came from God or not.

That’s a reasonable question.

But I wonder how often we stay there longer than we need to because we’re afraid to make a decision without certainty.

King David wanted to build God a temple…

In 2 Samuel 7, David is living in a palace while the ark of God remains in a tent. He notices the difference and tells Nathan the prophet about it. Nathan initially encourages him to do what’s in his heart, but that night God gives Nathan a different response.

God reminds David that, in essence, he doesn’t need anyone to build him anything.

So God didn’t prompt the building of the temple. And David’s proposal wasn’t a response to a command God had given him.

David saw something he wanted to do for God and he brought the idea forward. Then God then redirected him, telling him that his son Solomon would be the one to build the house. We later learn that this was because David was a man of war. He literally had his hands full fighting battles and couldn’t afford to get distracted.

So God didn’t let David carry out the plan himself, but He also didn’t dismiss the desire behind it.

Years later, Solomon recalled God’s response to his father: “You did well to have it in your heart” (1 Kings 8:18).

What a statement. God approved of what David wanted to offer while still having something to say about who would do it.

And after Solomon built the temple, God told him He had consecrated it and placed His name there (1 Kings 9:3).

The idea David brought to God became something God accepted and directed.

So while we don’t see God asking for a temple, he did give direction about its construction after David brought the desire to Him. And the initial conversation began with David noticing something and wanting to offer something.

There’s room in that story for initiative, and there’s also room for divine guidance.

So are you waiting on God or is he waiting on you? The answer is yes.

Maybe that’s the part we struggle with. We want to know our idea is God’s idea before we bring it to Him, almost as if having a desire of our own would somehow make the offering less sincere.

But relationships have room for offerings.

If you love someone, you don’t only do the things they specifically ask you to do. Sometimes you notice what would bring them joy and decide to do it. You make dinner, plan a trip, or help with something that’s been weighing on them.

You’re paying attention to someone you love.

But you bring it with open hands, as an offering, willing to have it molded, shaped, and used however the recipient sees fit.

And this is why intimacy with God, and time with God, is so important.

We learn what He loves, we become concerned about the people He cares about, and we begin wanting to do something with the gifts He’s given us.

Sometimes there are decisions that require a lot of prayer and counsel, especially when they affect your family, your responsibilities, or other people. A sincere desire doesn’t automatically make every plan wise, and loving God doesn’t mean every idea we have will work.

But I don’t think uncertainty always means we should wait.

Sometimes we already know enough to begin.

We know:

someone who needs help
a place we can serve
something to offer

…and we know the thing we’re considering is consistent with what God has taught us.

We just don’t know where it will lead.

One of my favorite stories is when John Kavanaugh asked Mother Teresa to pray for clarity about his future.

He was trying to decide whether to return to America to teach or remain abroad serving the poor.

She said, “No, I will not pray for that. […] Clarity is the last thing you cling to.” She continued, “I have never had clarity. What I always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”

Most of us would prefer to trust God after He explains what’s going to happen.

We want to know we’re making the right decision, that our effort will be worthwhile, and that we won’t look back and wish we had done something else.

But there are some things we only learn by moving.

We have the conversation and discover what someone actually needs. We invite people over and find out whether there’s a desire for community. We begin helping and realize our original idea needs to change.

And if we’re listening, God directs us as we go.

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About Mike P. Taylor

Mike helps people wrestle with the toughest questions of faith. He's the author of the book Grounded Faith for Practical People and he writes at mikeptaylor.com where he helps people rethink religion for a new generation. You can read more about the author here.

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