W.A.I.T.

What Am I Telling You!

Yesterday, I came home from my grandson’s birthday party to a dark house—the power was out. I received a text saying it should be restored by 6:30 p.m., so I stayed busy. I cleaned out my closet, set aside items for Goodwill, grabbed something to eat, and before long—the power came back on.

But then I noticed something unexpected.

The thermostat read: “System On — WAIT.”

In the back of my mind, I thought, Wait for what?
It was 27 degrees—one of the coldest nights we’ve had—and heat felt urgent.

I did a little Googling and decided to turn on the emergency heat. Of course, the warning popped up about how much it could increase my electric bill, but heat was needed. So I left it on overnight.

This morning, I planned to call the heating company. While I was on hold, I felt prompted to pause and look one more thing up. That’s when I learned something important: After a power outage your system may go into a protective delay (“WAIT” mode) to prevent damage to the compressor. During this time, emergency heat can kick in if the thermostat senses it’s too cold.

So I switched the thermostat back to regular heat. And in less than five minutes, the heat came back on.

WAIT.

Those letters rang a bell, years ago, I share with a group of ladies. W.A.I.T. “What Am I Telling You”

Why does God tell us to wait?

Because waiting protects us.
Because waiting builds trust.
Because waiting keeps us from jumping into “emergency mode” when God is already at work behind the scenes.

In our waiting, God strengthens our hearts. He teaches us to remain calm, stay firm in our faith, and trust that He is working all things together for our good.

As I waited for the heat to return, I also prayed for those who didn’t have what I had—those without heat, those without shelter, those facing the cold with far fewer resources. I thanked God for His provision and asked Him to provide for them as well.

Sometimes the message is simple.

When life feels urgent…
When fear says fix it now…
When the situation feels uncomfortable…

Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage…Psalms 27:14

What feels like a delay may actually be protection.
What feels like silence may be God working quietly on your behalf.

Reflection Question:
Is there an area in your life, where God might be inviting you to wait instead of rushing into “emergency mode”?