Don't Waste the Wait: How God Uses Delays to Build Purpose, Patience and Strength

Ever felt stuck in a season of waiting—and wondered why it’s taking so long?

In this powerful episode of Holly’s Highlights podcast, I'll share a personal, unexpected story that turned a routine errand into a deep reflection on how God works in our waiting seasons. From delayed prescriptions to divine lessons, this episode dives into what it truly means to be still, patient, and present when life doesn’t go as planned.

You’ll discover:

• 💡 3 Biblical truths about waiting that can transform your mindset
• 🔥 Why delays may actually be divine preparation
• 🙏 How to use waiting as a time of growth, strength, and spiritual clarity
• 💬 Encouraging scriptures and quotes from Isaiah, Psalms, and Exodus
• ✅ Practical ways to reframe frustrating moments—like traffic, job delays, or unanswered prayers

Whether you're waiting on a job, a relationship, healing, or a long-awaited breakthrough, this episode will encourage you to see that the pause has a purpose. 💫

💌 What’s your waiting room right now?
Holly wants to hear from you! Share your story at hello@hollycurby.com or on Instagram (@hollycurby) and Facebook (@HollysHighlights).

🎙️ Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review—and tag a friend who’s in a waiting season.

Chapters

• 0:00 Five-Year Milestone And Shout-Outs
• 1:31 A Simple Errand Goes Sideways
• 2:45 Realizing The Lesson In The Wait
• 4:34 Three Truths About Waiting
• 7:05 Reframing The Wait With Practical Steps
• 9:10 Reflections, Scriptures, And Closing Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hi friends, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast designed to encourage, inspire, and equip you to intentionally live your life full of purpose. I'm your host, Holly Kirby, motivational speaker, leadership cultivator, marketing strategist, and personal cheerleader. Let's check out today's highlight. I can't believe it's been five incredible years of laughs, deep dives, real talk, and powerful moments with this community here on Holly's Highlights Podcast. From day one to now, whether you've been riding with us since episode one or you just hit follow last week, you are the reason that this podcast is still going strong. And you know we've been reading those reviews and comments too. So big shout outs to fellow podcasters at Let's Unpack That with Alex and Grace, who said they love this podcast. Holly's authenticity, helpful tips, and heart for encouragement are so needed and refreshing. She shares relatable experiences and great tips that anyone can glean and apply for their own life. Truly an uplifting highlight to your day when you listen. Nicker1212 shares great listen to start my day, no matter what obstacles I'm facing that day. Great tips for success in the workplace, day-to-day advice, getting closer with the Lord, and family. Nicker1212, that one was felt. Thank you. And GMU Taro, Holly does an excellent job at finding content people want to hear. Uplifting, soulful, inspiring. I love to listen to hear the different biblical quotes and her inspiring messages. Well, listen, I heard that, and you are the reason I started ensuring such passages were weaved like a golden thread throughout each episode. So here's the deal. As we celebrate this major milestone, I want to shout you out. So leave a review or drop a comment on your favorite podcast platform or hit us up on social media. Facebook, it's at Holly's Highlights, Instagram, it's at HollyKirby. I'll be picking listeners to get a special shout out on a future episode and feature your words across our socials. Got something funny, deep, or just straight up love to share? We want to hear it. So go rate, review, and tag us, and let's make this next year even bigger together. Hey friends, welcome back to Holly's Highlights. I am so glad you're here. So let me start today with a question. Have you ever had one of those days where you just thought, this will just take a few minutes? And then suddenly it's hours later, and you're wondering where your day went. Yeah, that was me recently. Let me tell you what happened. I needed to pick up a simple prescription for my vet. I called ahead, I thought I'd just run in real quickly, maybe two minutes tops, grab it and be out before closing. Easy, right? Except it wasn't. I got caught up with other things, and I ended up arriving right after closing time. I was too late. And instead of just grabbing the prescription and heading home, I then had to drive to the emergency vet hospital across town to get the refill. Now here's where it really spirals. I walk in expecting it to be quick. After all, this is just a refill, and they were the ones to originally prescribe it. But as they checked me in and just said, it'll just be a few minutes, those seem to be their famous last words. I ended up waiting in that vet hospital for well over two full hours. Over two hours just for a couple bottles of pills. And let me tell you, I went through all the emotions. Frustration, annoyance, self-blame. I kept thinking if I had only left 15 minutes earlier, I had things to do, dinner to make, emails to send, my son to pick up from an event, and a million other little things tugging at me. But then something happened. I sat there, quiet, still, and it hit me. This is life. We think we're in control. We think we're on schedule. And then suddenly we're waiting. And more often than not, those waiting times, they're the moments when God is trying to teach us something. So let's talk about waiting. Did you know that a Timex survey shows that the average person spends about six months of their life waiting in line and over two years on hold with customer service? Two years. Waiting is part of the human experience. And yet it's something we all try to avoid. We distract ourselves, rush ahead, we even get angry when life hits the brakes. But what if waiting wasn't a waste? What if it was actually doing something? Well, today I want to walk through those three truths about waiting that just might change how we see it. The first one, waiting reveals our character. Let's be honest, most of us don't like who we become in waiting rooms, whether it's in traffic, at the DMV, or even waiting on a dream to come true. We tend to get impatient and even short-tempered, even bitter. But here's the thing: waiting reveals what's already inside us. Our small frustrations in traffic might actually mirror how we handle the bigger delays in life. Are we quick to complain? Do we default to control mode, trying to force things? Or can we sit in the pause and trust that something good is being worked out? As Aristotle once said, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. And Leo Tolstoy, the two most powerful warriors are patience and time. And of course, the scripture says, Isaiah 40, 31, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Waiting isn't weakness, it's refining. Number two, waiting builds strength. Think about how muscles grow. They don't grow when we're comfortable sitting there on the couch all kicked back, they grow under resistance. The same is true for our spiritual and emotional muscles. Waiting stretches us. But in the stretching, we're also being strengthened. There's actual science behind this too. Research from psychologists show that learning to practice patience doesn't just improve your relationships, it reduces stress and it increases long-term life satisfaction. Pretty wild, right? So that delay, that season where it feels like nothing's happening, it might just be your training ground. And number three, waiting redirects our focus. Now, back to my story, sitting in the vet hospital, feeling helpless and annoyed. There was literally nothing I could do to speed up the process. But I realized I could choose what I focused on. I had a couple of choices. I could sit there scrolling endlessly, numbing the frustration, okay, until my battery died in my phone. Or I could choose to be present. I could reflect. I could even pray. That latter one, that's what I chose. I prayed for my dog. I prayed for my kids, my family, my friends, some coworkers. You see, waiting slows us down just enough to notice what we usually miss. The people around us, the quiet voice of God, our own thoughts and hearts. Psalms 46, 10 says, Be still and know that I am God. Stillness doesn't come naturally, but when life makes us wait, it's often an invitation to rediscover it. So here's the question I want to ask you today. What's your waiting room right now? Maybe it's a a job you've applied for, but you haven't heard back. Maybe it's a relationship that hasn't quite come together. Maybe it's a prayer that feels like it's hanging in the air unanswered. What if, just what if, this waiting season, it's not punishment. What if it's preparation? So let's look at three simple ways to reframe the next time we're feeling stuck waiting. First off, ask, what is this moment teaching me? So instead of the frustration, choose curiosity. Two, equip yourself for the wait. Carry a small journal, save a scripture card in your wallet, download a podcast episode you've been meaning to listen to. Um, Holly's Highlights podcast, perhaps. But use that time for something that feeds your soul. I actually keep a book on hand in the car, in my work bag, in the hospital go bag, you name it. I have a book there. And then three, don't waste the waiting. Use it. Growth doesn't come from speed, it comes from presence. So be present in the pause. Now, as we wrap up, let me ask you again: what's one waiting room that you're in right now? And I'd love to hear from you. Send me a message at hello at hollykirby.com or drop a comment on the post promoting this episode on Facebook, which is at Holly's Highlights, or on Instagram, which is at Holly Kirby. What is your waiting season teaching you? And remember, Exodus 14, 14, the Lord will fight for you. You only need to be still. Friend, don't despise the waiting rooms of life. They're not wasted. They're where purpose is forged. Thanks for spending these minutes with me today. If this encouraged you, share it with a friend who just might be in their own waiting room right now. Until next time, stay faithful, stay present, and trust that God is at work in your paws. Thank you for joining me on this journey of life. I hope that today's highlight has been encouraging, inspiring, and equipping so you can go out and live your life full of purpose. I'd be honored if you'd take a moment to leave a review, or better yet, subscribe. We can also stay in touch by joining my email list at hollykirby.com. That's H O L L Y C U R B Y dot com. Until next time, make it a great day for a great day.