When God Is the Wind: Learning to Wait, Hear and Follow Him

There is something God has been placing in my heart, and I have felt the burden to share it.

I believe there are seasons in our lives when God is not necessarily asking us to do more. He is asking us to slow down, listen, wait, and allow Him to lead.

We live in a generation that is constantly moving.

We want answers immediately. We want the next opportunity immediately. We want the breakthrough immediately. We want to know where we are going, how we are going to get there, who will be there, and how long it will take.

And sometimes, in our desperation to arrive at a destination, we begin moving without asking whether God is actually the One leading us there.

We are so ready to beat the wind that we forget to ask where the wind is blowing.

But perhaps the question God wants to ask some of us today is:

Why the haste?
Why are you running?
To what end?
To what purpose?
Who told you that you have to arrive before God has finished preparing you?
Are you greater than the One who formed you?
Are you wiser than the One who knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb?
Are you more capable of determining your future than the One who knows the end from the beginning?

Perhaps we need to learn again the ancient discipline of waiting on God.

Abraham: A Man Who Heard God and Walked

Let us look at Abraham.

Before Abraham became Abraham, the father of many nations, he came from a family and environment where other gods were worshipped.

Joshua tells us:

“Your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.”
— Joshua 24:2

Think about that.

God called a man out of an environment that did not necessarily look like the environment from which you would expect a covenant with God to emerge.

Abraham was not born into the perfect story. He did not have the perfect background. He did not have everything figured out.

Yet God came to him. Genesis 12:1 says:

“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”

Notice something: God did not tell Abraham everything. He said, “the land I will show you.”

There was a destination, but there was not a detailed itinerary. God gave him a command before giving him the complete map.

And Abraham went. Hebrews 11:8 says:

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”

That is faith. Faith is not always knowing where you are going. Sometimes faith is knowing Who called you.

Abraham did not have the full picture. But he trusted the One who had the full picture.

And I believe this is where many of us struggle. We want God to explain everything before we obey anything. But God often says:

“Trust Me first. I will show you as you walk.”

What Did Abraham See?

This question has been on my heart: What did Abraham see?

What made a man leave what was familiar and walk toward what was unknown? What did he see that made him trust a God he had not previously known in the way he would come to know Him?

Perhaps Abraham saw something that we have forgotten. He saw that the One calling him was greater than the uncertainty surrounding him. Abraham did not know the details, but he trusted the character of the One who spoke. And that trust became the foundation of his journey.

Romans 4:20–21 says of Abraham:

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

Abraham’s confidence was not ultimately in himself. His confidence was in God’s ability to fulfill what God had spoken.

And perhaps that is what some of us need to recover. Not confidence in our ability to figure everything out. Not confidence in our connections. Not confidence in our timing. Not confidence in our plans.

But confidence in the God who spoke.

The Man Who Waited

Abraham had promises, but he also had waiting.

God promised him a son. Yet the promise did not manifest immediately. There was a gap between the word and the fulfillment.

And that gap can be one of the hardest places to live. Because we are comfortable celebrating God’s promise, but we struggle with God’s process.

We love prophecy. We love promises. We love declarations.

But what happens when God says, “Wait”?
What happens when heaven is silent?
What happens when you prayed and nothing seems to be changing?
What happens when everyone around you seems to be moving forward while you appear to be standing still?

Sometimes standing still is not stagnation. Sometimes standing still is obedience.

Psalm 27:14 says:

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

Isaiah 40:31 says:

“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength.”

Notice that Scripture does not say those who rush will renew their strength. It says those who wait.

Because waiting on God is not doing nothing. Waiting on God is positioning yourself to receive direction from God.

David: Another Heart God Could Trust

And this is where I see something beautiful connecting Abraham and David.

David was not perfect. David made terrible mistakes. David committed adultery. David arranged for Uriah to be killed. David failed in ways that should have disqualified him in the eyes of men.

Yet God said something extraordinary about him in 1 Samuel 13:14:

“The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart.”

And in Acts 13:22, Paul repeats that testimony:

“He made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

What was it about David? It was not perfection. It was his heart toward God.

David knew how to return.
David knew how to inquire.
David knew how to repent.
David knew how to worship.
David knew how to wait.

There is a remarkable moment in 1 Samuel 30. David and his men were in distress. Their city had been attacked. Their families had been taken. His own men were speaking about stoning him.

David was under pressure. He could have acted impulsively. He could have simply followed his emotions.

But Scripture says in 1 Samuel 30:8:

“David inquired of the LORD.”

That phrase is so important: David inquired of the LORD.

Before he moved, he asked. Before he acted, he sought. Before he pursued, he listened.

And I wonder how many mistakes we could have avoided if we had simply learned to inquire of the Lord.

The Danger of Moving Without God

Sometimes our greatest problem is not that we lack ambition. It is that we have ambition without direction.

We are moving, but we are not necessarily being led. We are building, but we have not asked whether God told us to build it. We are pursuing relationships, careers, opportunities, positions, platforms, and destinations because they look good, without asking: “Lord, is this You?”

Proverbs 3:5–6 says:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

There is a difference between making your own path and allowing God to direct your path.

Sometimes we become frustrated because God has not blessed what He never instructed us to pursue. We ask God to sustain what we started without Him. We ask Him to bless a destination He never told us to go to. We ask Him to repair consequences that came from our refusal to wait.

And perhaps God is saying:
Come back.
Come back to the place of hearing.
Come back to the place of prayer.
Come back to the place of obedience.
Come back to the place where you ask before you move.

Abraham, David and the Covenant

There is another connection that deeply moves me.

God made a covenant with Abraham:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.”
— Genesis 12:2

And God promised David that his throne would have an enduring significance (2 Samuel 7:16):

“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”

And then we come to the New Testament. Matthew begins the genealogy of Jesus Christ with these words:

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
— Matthew 1:1

The promises, the covenant, the story, the waiting, the generations—all moving toward Christ.

God was not merely building Abraham’s personal success. God was working through one man’s obedience to accomplish something much greater than that man could see.

Abraham could not see the whole story. David could not see the whole story. But God could.

And that is the point: You do not have to see the whole story when you know the Author.

What If Your Waiting Is Part of Someone Else’s Story?

Maybe this is where someone needs to hear something today:

Your waiting may not be wasted.
Your delay may not be meaningless.
Your preparation may not be punishment.
Your hidden season may be necessary.
Your unanswered prayer may not mean God has abandoned you.
Your current location may not be your final destination.

Abraham waited. David waited. Joseph waited. Moses waited. Even Jesus lived thirty years in relative obscurity before His public ministry.

We often want the public manifestation without the private preparation. We want the promise without the process. We want the throne without the wilderness. We want David’s crown without David’s caves. We want Abraham’s covenant without Abraham’s journey.

But God is interested not only in where He is taking you. He is interested in who you become while He takes you there.

Learn to Hear the Whisper

There is something about God that we must recover: the ability to become still enough to hear Him.

Psalm 46:10 says:

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Sometimes God does not need to shout. Sometimes He whispers.

Elijah discovered this. The Lord was not in the great wind. He was not in the earthquake. He was not in the fire. Then came:

“a gentle whisper.”
— 1 Kings 19:12

And perhaps some of us have become so accustomed to noise that we can no longer recognize the whisper. We have allowed social media to speak. We have allowed fear to speak. We have allowed comparison to speak. We have allowed our ambitions to speak.

And in the middle of all that noise, the voice of God is asking:

“Will you be still long enough to hear Me?”

Why the Haste?

Why are we in such a hurry?
Why are we trying to force what God has not released?
Why are we trying to open doors God has not opened?
Why are we trying to become what God has not called us to become?
Why are we comparing our timeline with another person’s timeline?
Why are we afraid that if we wait on God, we will miss our opportunity?

What if waiting on God is actually how you avoid missing what He has prepared for you?

Psalm 37:7 says:

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.”

There is a divine rhythm to the life of faith. There are times to move. There are times to stand. There are times to speak. There are times to be silent. There are times to pursue. There are times to wait.

The wisdom is knowing which season you are in. And that wisdom comes from walking with God.

My Own Journey

My life has been many things.

There have been moments when I wanted answers. Moments when I wanted things to happen faster. Moments when I wanted to understand the road ahead.

But one thing I do not take for granted is learning not merely to find the wind, but to allow God to become the One who leads me through the wind.

Because sometimes the wind will blow against you. Sometimes it will push you in directions you did not expect. Sometimes the road will look nothing like what you imagined.

But if God is leading:

I would rather be in the storm with God than in calm waters without Him.
I would rather be where God sent me than where my ambition pushed me.
I would rather wait for God’s timing than arrive early at a destination He never ordained.
I would rather have God’s presence than man’s applause.
I would rather have God’s direction than my own certainty.

Because what is the point of arriving somewhere if God is not there?

What Has God Written Concerning You?

Why not return to the Word?
Why not return to prayer?
Why not return to Christ?

Why not ask:

“Lord, what are You doing in me in this season?”
“Lord, what are You forming in me?”
“Lord, what are You teaching me while I wait?”
“Lord, who are You making me?”

Because perhaps the greatest miracle is not always the destination. Sometimes the greatest miracle is the person God forms while taking you there.

Come Back to Christ

Ultimately, this message is not about Abraham. It is not about David. It is not even about our ability to wait. It is about Christ.

Because every good story in Scripture eventually points us back to Him. Abraham points us toward the promise. David points us toward the King. The prophets point us toward the Messiah.

And Christ comes and says:

“Follow Me.”

Not, “Understand everything first.” Not, “Know exactly where I am taking you.” But: “Follow Me.”

Jesus says in John 10:27:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

There it is. Listen. Know Him. Follow Him. That is the life.

Can you still hear His voice?
Can you still trust Him?
Can you still obey when you do not understand?
Can you still wait when the promise seems delayed?
Can you still follow when the road is unfamiliar?

Abraham did not know everything, but he went. David did not live perfectly, but he returned. And Christ calls us today to do the same.

So, Wait

So, brother. Sister.

If God has not spoken, do not manufacture an answer.
If God has not opened the door, do not break it down.
If God has told you to wait, do not allow comparison to make you run.
If God is silent, do not assume He is absent.
If the road is unclear, return to the One who knows the road.

Wait. Pray. Search the Scriptures. Inquire of the Lord. Listen. Obey.

And when He says move, move.
When He says stay, stay.
When He says wait, wait.
When He says let go, let go.
When He says follow, follow.

Because the goal of our lives is not simply to get somewhere. The goal is to walk with God.

I would rather walk slowly with God than run quickly without Him.
I would rather be delayed by God’s wisdom than accelerated by my own impatience.
I would rather be hidden in God’s preparation than exposed before I am ready.
I would rather wait for God’s appointed time than force my own.

Because the God who called Abraham knew where Abraham was going. The God who chose David knew what David would become. And the God who called you knows exactly what He is doing with your life.

You may not see it yet. You may not understand it yet. You may not even recognize the road. But trust Him.

The One who formed you knows your very essence. The One who knew you before the foundation of the world is not confused about your future. The One who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.

So stop running ahead of God.
Stop measuring your life by another person’s timeline.
Stop allowing fear to dictate your pace.
Stop trying to beat the wind.

Find God in the wind. And let Him lead.

Because when God is the One directing your steps, even the wilderness becomes part of the journey. Even the waiting becomes worship. Even the delay becomes preparation. Even the unknown becomes an opportunity for faith.

And even when you cannot see the road ahead, you can trust the One who does.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6

May we become men and women who do not merely seek God’s hand, but seek God’s heart.
May we become people who do not only ask God to bless our plans, but surrender our plans to God.

May we learn again how to wait.
May we learn again how to listen.
May we learn again how to inquire.
May we learn again how to obey.

And above everything else, may we find our way back to Christ.