Mike Breaux - How Do I Find JOY in the Waiting (01/13/2026)
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Summary:
In part 2 of the «Hearing from God» series, Mike Breaux teaches on waiting actively while living dependently on God, using Psalm 37 as the core text. God’s will is far more about character than specific directions; waiting isn’t passive inactivity but continuing to do good, cultivate faithfulness, and delight in the Lord right where you are. Delight yourself in Him first, and He will align and fulfill your heart’s desires. Trust His timing, bloom where planted, and throw your life into the river of His wisdom—He’ll make your paths straight.
Welcome and Series Context
All right, what’s up, everybody? Great to see you! Thanks for being at Lake Pointe today. Welcome to all of you who are guests today and those of you who might be joining us online at all our campuses as well. My name is Breaux, by the way, and I get to be on the teaching team around this place. It’s kind of one of the privileges of my life to hang out with you all.
We are in part two of a four-week series where we’re talking about hearing from God. How do you know His will for your life and get some direction for this journey we call life? How many of you all use the Waze app or Siri or something similar when you’re traveling in unfamiliar territory? I use it all the time. In fact, I just got the Waze senior edition, which not only tells me how to get where I’m going but also tells me why I was going there in the first place. It’s awesome! But we could all use some help navigating life, and the good news is we have a God who really does have plans for our lives, and He wants to guide us to the right places.
However, we learned last weekend that He would much rather be a sculptor in our lives than simply our heavenly Alexa. He wants to put His wise and loving hands on our character and shape us and mold us into the right kind of people so that as He leads us to the right places, we will be the right kind of people in those places. But I think all of us wonder things like: Who am I? Why am I here? Am I doing the right thing? Am I in the right job? Am I on the right career path? Am I at the right school? Am I making the right decisions? Am I dating the right person? I mean, is this what I was really created for?
So I’m just guessing, you know, a couple of weeks into this series, some of you are saying, «Bro, exactly!» I get it. Listen, I’ve been really patient with you so far in this series. I’ve been cutting you some slack because you told us straight up we were going to learn how to discern where God wants us to go—what is God’s will for our lives? And I thought, man, this series is perfect timing for me because I have a lot of things up in the air right now. I have a big decision to make, and I need some direction by the end of the summer. So far you’ve told us that God’s will is a whole lot more about who we are than what we do and where we go. You told us that God longs for us to desire Him more than just His answers for our lives. You said it’s not our job to go out and find God’s will but to follow God’s voice. So I get it, dude, all nice thoughts, but listen, I’m trying to figure out whether I’m supposed to retire, whether I’m supposed to move, what major I’m supposed to choose. I mean, sure, I get it; I want to be who God wants me to be, but when are you going to give us some tools on how to discern all these directional questions I have going on in my head?
Very soon, but you’re going to have to wait. Sorry!
The Challenge of Waiting
Does anybody enjoy waiting? I mean, if you were putting together a resume, how many of you would list as a really strong suit of yours, «I’m a great waiter»? I don’t mean like at Denny’s or Outback; I’m not talking about that kind of waiter. I mean you’d say, «I am a great waiting person. I just love it!» Like when I’m in Kroger, and I take my 11 items to the express checkout lane, and there’s somebody in front of me with like 43 items, I just love that. I love it! Then their card won’t work, and they have to dig through their purse looking for another one. Then they have to go back and enter their Kroger Plus number. I just love that; I just love to wait.
This week, it was like God knew exactly what I was going to be teaching on—of course He did. But I had four really long flight delays this week. I had two flight cancellations. I waited in an airport for two full days, and then yesterday, on the way here, I sat on I-30 and went 7 miles in 2 hours. I just sat there, surrounded by semi-trucks and a bunch of ticked-off people, just waiting. It was like I was saying to God, «Okay, are you talking to me?» Because there’s nobody you’ve ever met in the history of the world that says, «Yeah, I love to wait!» Our drive-thru, DoorDash, and 5G culture don’t like waiting very well.
So into our restless culture, into our restless hearts, into our swirling minds comes a word from God written down thousands of years ago but just as relevant today. Check this out; it’s so good: Psalm 37, «Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him, and He will do it. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.» See that last little line? «Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.» Relax in the wisdom, the love, the power, and the presence of God, and just wait patiently for Him to move.
And wouldn’t you know it, God is never in a hurry! I mean, oftentimes, you and I get so impatient. We go, «God, you know what? I am sick of waiting!» And we just go our own direction, do our own thing, and it ends up blowing up in our face. I think God is trying to say to you and me, «Before I show you where to go and what to do, I just want you to come and be.» And that means you’re going to have to learn how to wait.
Redefining Waiting
Now, before we learn how to wait, we’re going to have to redefine that word. You see, in our culture, waiting means inactivity, which means I’m stuck, or I’m spinning my wheels, or I’m twiddling my thumbs, or I’m just wasting my time. But in God’s way of thinking, waiting doesn’t necessarily mean inactivity. In fact, waiting from God’s point of view is actually an active thing. When it says to wait on the Lord, it means to keep moving through your life while you rest in the assurance that God is at work in your life.
And since it’s true that He is a good, good Father who has good plans for us, since it’s true that He has a much better view from above, and since it’s true that He loves you and me with an unfailing love, to wait on the Lord means I keep moving through my life, just doing my job with excellence, loving my family with passion, encouraging my friends, and serving my world while at the same time resting in His wisdom and having patience in His timing. That’s what it means to wait on the Lord.
Wait Actively, Live Dependently
So here’s the principle: you wait actively, and you live dependently. You wait actively, and you live dependently.
Well, how do I do that? What does it mean to wait actively? Let’s go back and look at a couple of things in that scripture from Psalm 37 that we just read together. I think the first thing waiting actively means is that you and I just keep on doing the right thing. We just keep on doing the right thing. Look again at what it said in verse 3: «Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.»
You might have heard how the guy who wrote that had to wait as a teenager. David was anointed the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel, and the scripture tells us that David goes right back to tending his flocks. He didn’t know the when, didn’t know the where, didn’t know the how of how this «you’re going to be the next king» deal was going to work out. He just goes right back to his tedious, boring, dead-end, low-paying job and just keeps on doing the right thing with excellence as he waited for God’s right timing. He just continued to trust in the Lord and do good.
He chose to dwell in whatever land he found himself and cultivate faithfulness. He just kept doing the right thing every day with a good attitude, and God honored him for it.
Bloom Where Planted
So let’s just say you may feel like you’re not in the career that God ultimately wants you to be in, and you’re praying about some options. There seem to be a few open doors, but it doesn’t look like anything’s working out right away. So maybe you’re kind of getting stuck in that mode of saying, «You know what? I hate this job! I hate it!» But nothing’s opening up, so you know what? I’m just going to sit here, and I’m going to be this unemotional, detached, disengaged, unmotivated lame-duck employee and just wait on the Lord. No! The principle here is that while you’re waiting, you just keep doing the right thing.
It means that wherever you find yourself and whatever you are doing right now, you trust in the Lord and just keep doing good. Galatians 6:10 says, «Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.» You want to reap a harvest? You’ve got to cultivate faithfulness! You’ve got to bloom where you are currently planted as you wait.
Somebody gave me a mug a few years ago with an inscription on the front that said, «You’ve probably seen this: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.» You unwrap the gift of today; you look for opportunities in this present moment, not always thinking about what used to be or stressing out about what might happen or where you would rather be. The reality is that you and I are living in this moment we’re in right now.
God’s Will Today: Micah 6:8
You’re working the job you’re working right now. You’ve got to go back to your coworkers on Monday. You’ve got to go back to the people you live with today. I’ll be honest; there have been times in my life where I’ve sensed God saying directly to me, «Bro, I can’t allow you to know what my will is for your future because you’re not concerned with what my will is for you right now. And my will for you right now is that you keep doing the right thing with joy and gratitude while you’re waiting where you are.»
Once again, the foundational principle we’ve been learning through this series is that God is much more concerned about who we are becoming than what we do or where we go. He’s developing our character as we wait. You know, I wear shorts just about every day of my life. Anybody else with me? I wear them even in the winter! It’s all I can do to put on a pair of jeans, I’m just being honest with you. So whenever I get into one of those «What about my future? Where do you want me to go? What do you want me to do, God?» modes, all I have to do is read the tattoo on the back of my calf. I only got one; it hurts so bad I’ll never get another one!
Micah 6:8: «He has shown you, O people, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? What is God’s will for you? That you act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.» People see my tattoo and ask, «What is that?» I say, «It’s a little three-step program I’m in. I just want to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.»
So you want to know what God’s will for your life is? You don’t know the next phase of your life? Absolutely! Man, I told you, «Bro, I’ve got a big decision to make! I’ve got to choose a school before the end of July. I have a couple of job offers waiting on me! I’m thinking about going ring shopping tomorrow…» So yes! Speak to me, God! Okay, here you go: God’s will for your life is to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God today!
Cultivate Faithfulness
There are going to be days in your life when the plan is not crystal clear, when there’s no handwriting on the wall or some sign from the sky, when we’re standing at a crossroad still waiting to hear from God on what to do next. And in that moment, God says, «Trust in Me and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.» Don’t bail out and do the wrong thing! Don’t grow impatient and make an impulsive decision! Don’t just follow your heart and do your own thing! Don’t flip a coin saying heads Carolina, tails California! You dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness right here, right now, where you are!
And listen, cultivating faithfulness means that whatever you put your hand to, you do it in a dependable, excellent, joy-filled, God-honoring way—even if you think it is the most insignificant, menial, dead-end job in the entire world, and nobody knows or cares about what you do. He cares, and He notices! In fact, Jesus said that God is pretty serious about this cultivating faithfulness thing. He said, «If you’re not faithful in little things, guess what? If God opens up door number two that you’ve been praying for and desperately wanting to open, you’re not going to be faithful in that either.» That’s what Jesus said! If you can’t be trusted with a little, you can’t be trusted with a lot.
Let me just be super transparent here. I was around 20 years old—what, probably like 16 years ago now? Has it been that long? Wow! I was a 20-year-old dude, and I had a job I did not like at all. I would show up; it was all I could do to show up every day. I can remember how I would mope, gripe, and complain about where I was, the low pay I was receiving, and how hard the stuff was and the menial tasks they would ask me to do. I just kept saying, «God, you’ve got to get me out of here!»
And I felt like God spoke to me as a 20-year-old guy and said, «You know what? Truth is, bro, your attitude stinks! And because of your attitude, you’ve turned into a slacker. And if you’re a slacker now, you’re going to be a slacker in the next place I lead you, because if I can’t trust you with these responsibilities, I know I can’t trust you with those responsibilities. You need to stay right where you are and learn how to do the right thing every day, to dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness while I shape you into the right kind of person.»
About that same time, I ran across this scripture from Colossians chapter 3 that says, «Whatever you do, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you’re serving. He’s your boss!»
I got talking to a shuttle driver not long ago at DFW, and the dude was so happy, just cheerful, serving people, constantly singing as he was unloading bags. I was the last one getting dropped off, so I engaged him in conversation. I told him how impressed I was with his joyful attitude. I said, «By the way, dude, you’re a really good singer!» He goes, «Yeah, this ain’t my dream job. I always wanted to be a full-time singer, but this is my job right now, and I love helping people and making them smile.» And he didn’t know who I was at all. He said, «You know what? I just think that’s what the Lord wants us all to do.» And I thought—that’s what it means to cultivate faithfulness while you wait actively!
God’s Delays and Delight
David further on down in Psalm 37 adds this: «Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act; travel steadily along His path.» He will honor you, giving you the land! He said, «Don’t take the timetable into your own hands! You wait actively, and you live dependently, and God will honor you for that.»
I can remember years ago Rick Warren saying, «God’s delays are not always God’s denials.» «God’s delays are not always God’s denials!» They’re usually God preparing us for something that’s much better! He is presently at work in your life behind the scenes as you wait.
So you keep waiting actively, and you live dependently! You travel steadily along this path, and each day you say, «Once again today, God, I just want to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.» And even though you might not be in the long-term situation that you had hoped for, you can still know that you’re doing His will today if you just keep doing the right thing where you currently are. Because in doing the right thing, you’re becoming the right kind of person, and God’s will is a whole lot more about who we are than what we do or where we go, right?
Let me read these key verses again because I want them to sink into all of our hearts. In fact, why don’t we do this: let’s put them on the screen, and let’s all read them out loud together? Let’s read this out loud together: «Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him, and He will do it. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.»
Now, honestly, which verse out of all those kind of jumps out at you? Isn’t it this one: «Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart»? You’re saying, «All right, now we’re talking! Now we’re finally getting somewhere in this series with this hearing from God thing!» God finally spoke to me in this series! I just read it; I heard everybody read it out loud: «He is going to give me the desires of my heart!» Yes! And, God, you’ve already got my list, so bring them on!
Now, you did notice, didn’t you, that there’s a two-part to this verse? The A part is «Delight yourself in the Lord.» The B part is «and He will give you the desires of your heart.» You see, we want to jump to B and flip it, saying, «Lord, give me my desires, and I will be delighted, ” right? And you know what? God does want to give you and me the desires of our hearts; He really does! He’s a Father who loves to give good gifts! And remember, He has a plan that includes a hope and a future! He wants to help you and me clarify those passions and make sure that those desires are good and healthy for our lives. He wants to do that; He promises to do that!
But it’s a conditional promise. It’s conditional on part A of that verse. If you and I will make Him the primary passion of our lives, to walk with Him, to trust His wisdom, His deeper love, His better view from above, to make Him the delight of our hearts—knowing Him and pursuing Him and building a relationship with Him, listening to Him, obeying Him—if we will make Him the delight of our hearts, He will give us the desires of our hearts!
Delight in Him First
I’ve been learning that delighting myself in the Lord is saying, „God, my one desire is You.“
Delighting myself in the Lord is saying, „Father, would you clarify the desires of my heart? Because I’ve got some passions rolling around in there; I think You put them in me, but I give You permission to replace them or rearrange them if You need to.“ You see, delighting myself in the Lord is saying, „God, what are the desires of Your heart? I want Your desires and my desires to match up.“ And I’m just telling you, I’m a slow learner, but I’m learning: When you do that, it just gives you freedom from all the stewing and spewing and stressing out about here or there, him or her, this job or that job, because our delight, our primary focus, is on Him!
And when our focus is on Him, our passions start to match up with His, and then He begins to lead us to some pretty cool, deeply satisfying, unexpected adventures that are even better than what we thought we wanted in the first place!
God talks about this in Jeremiah chapter 2. He says, „My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have gone out and dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.“
Throw Your Life into His River
Y’all ever been to Niagara Falls? Anybody been to Niagara Falls before? It’s pretty, it’s pretty amazing! I remember standing there—I mean, there are like millions and millions of gallons of water pouring over those falls! It is super powerful, and that river is super swift! I remember standing by the river thinking, „I don’t want to slip! If I slip, I’m history!“ Right? It’s powerful, and it’s scary! And while I was there, I was reading about different daredevil types of people, like the guy that went across the tightrope over Niagara Falls and a bunch of people that tried to go over in a barrel, you know, over Niagara Falls in a barrel—bunch of crazy people.
But I was reading an article about Steven Trotter, who is a daredevil kind of guy, and Lori Martin. They wanted to be the first couple to ever go over Niagara in a barrel together. And I’m thinking, „That’s a great date idea! You would pretty much know if you’re meant for each other if you survived that, ” right? So I’m reading this article with great fascination, and the barrel they had wasn’t like a whiskey barrel; it was like a Kevlar-wrapped barrel with oxygen on the inside and all that kind of stuff. But I’m reading the article thinking, „Once you get inside the barrel, how do you get into the river? Do you rock in the parking lot and hopefully roll down the hill into the river?“
Well, it simply says in the article, „Once inside the barrel, Trotter’s brothers and friends pushed them into the Niagara River, and 15 seconds later, they were at the bottom of the falls in a scenic overlook, a popular tourist attraction.“ And I’m reading this and going, „Wow, that would be an absolute rush!“ But the thing that really jumped out at me was that little phrase that said, „15 seconds later.“ For 15 seconds, they had absolutely no control! They were totally yielded to the flow of that river! And I thought, „I want to live like that!“
Not in some crazy „go over Niagara in a barrel“ kind of way, but just saying, „God, I want to throw my life into the powerful river of Your wisdom, and wherever the flow wants to take me, let it be! Let it be!“ Here’s a verse you ought to memorize; stick it in your heart. In fact, let’s just read this one out loud together. Some of you know this verse: Proverbs 3:5 and 6: „Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.“
Closing Prayer
Let’s bow our heads for a few moments now. I do believe that God is really speaking to a bunch of us, and I know that some of you really are stressed out about what’s next for you. There are just things happening in your life right now, and you’re trying to—you really are trying to figure out what God wants you to do. You’re standing at a crossroad; He’s going to lead you, but He wants you to trust Him, depend upon Him, and wait for His timing. And as you do, He just develops you into a better person so that wherever He leads you, you’ll just be the right kind of person there.
I’m praying that’s starting to sink into your heart. I’ve been praying for it to sink into my own—just every day roll out of bed and say, „God, I’m Throwing my life into the river of Your wisdom today, wherever You want to take me, that’s where we’re going to go!“ I just pray that would sink in.
I guess this is what I’ve been praying the most while trying to put this series together: that it would just lower your anxiety level, that you wouldn’t stress out so much about what’s next! That you’d just unwrap the presence of God in this moment today! I’m going to dwell in the land, cultivate faithfulness, and keep doing the right thing!
I really do believe that throughout this series, God has been speaking to some of you. He’s been saying, „I’ve been waiting patiently for you to turn around for a long time! I’ve been pursuing you all your life! I love you more than you could imagine! I want to do life with you! I really want to do life with you! Would you want to do life with me? Delight yourself in Me, and I’ll give you the desires of your heart! I’ll reveal some things inside you that you didn’t know you desired—things that will satisfy you and bring you contentment and peace in your life!“
Father, it’s my prayer today that all of us would hear You speaking to us in some way. I know You speak; You do every day, all day. But it’s in moments like this, when we’re just kind of quiet, it seems like You speak the loudest. I think that’s why You say, „Be still and just know that I’m God.“
So God, I pray You’re speaking to hearts right now, telling us to relax and trust You, to make You the primary delight of our lives. Father, thank You for what You’re teaching us! Thank You for what You’re going to teach us in the coming weeks! So grateful! And thank You, Jesus, for making it possible for us to do life with the living God! I pray all this in Your name. Amen.