Most of us struggle with waiting, whether we’re waiting in a checkout line or waiting for God to give us a spouse or child. The culture feeds our distaste for waiting by offering movies on demand and same-day delivery. Sometimes we decide that if we have to wait for something, it’s just not worth having. We can easily forget that God uses seasons of waiting to help us grow spiritually. Moses spent 40 years in Midian, unaware that he was destined for something else. We can learn much by looking at how God used this 40 year period in the life of Moses.

Moses in Midian

Exodus 2 tells the story of Moses’s arrival in Midian — a tale of distress and murder and fleeing the Pharaoh’s wrath. Contemplate the scope of the change he experienced — going from life in the palace with its opulence and proximity to power to a hardscrabble life in the desert wilderness.

Those years in Midian must have seemed like a useless waste of his gifts and a tragic delay in the Israelites’ deliverance. Moses wanted to relieve his people’s oppression and had unique qualifications for the job. He was schooled in the wisdom of the Egyptians, had access to the Pharaoh himself, and had youthful strength and energy for the task.

So consider Moses’s questions and doubts as his prime years slipped away. This highly educated man was now watching over animals, an occupation which required no formal education at all. Consider too, how his body declined as he spent decades in the open air, experiencing the extremes of heat and cold, hunger, fatigue, and the stresses of dealing with foolish and headstrong animals.

Midian as Training Ground

However, Moses’s gifts and all those years were not wasted, as God was preparing his body, mind, and spirit to survive the Exodus journey, manage the rebellion of the Hebrew people, and walk with the Lord in daily dependence.

Midian was an ideal training ground for leading a restless crowd through the wilderness. The comforts and luxuries of the palace could not prepare Moses for ongoing hardship like austerity and physical challenges would. In Midian, he would learn how to find sustenance and deal with heat, dust, and other threats in the desert. Shepherding would develop watchfulness, courage, decisiveness, and the ability to manage unruly charges. Wilderness solitude provided much time alone with God to grow in understanding of and trust in His character and ways.

But beyond these practical skills, Moses needed to gain humility. While we can admire and respect his identification with the Hebrew people and his outrage over their mistreatment, he had acted in self-reliance back in Egypt. He had thrust himself forward as deliverer and judge in pride and self-will, and was called out by one of the very people he was trying to save (Acts 7:25).

Moses’s Transformation

Moses’s trust in God began when he ran to Midian. By leaving Egypt altogether, apparently renouncing his exalted position and any possibility of return or being of service to his people, Moses commended himself to the care and protection of God.

He also trusted God with the well-being of his Hebrew brothers, never charging God with wrong-doing despite their continued bondage. As Moses grew in his knowledge of God and witnessed His care, he also developed patience with God’s plans.

Despite the contrast with his former way of life, Moses accepted his new circumstances in Midian. He showed no pride or disdain for the lower station of his hosts, but served the shepherdesses in their need and graciously accepted their food and lodging. He had to adjust to the dust, the lack of comforts, the loss of deference, the realities of basic hygiene, and the mind-numbing monotony and repetition of daily life after the entertainments and intellectual stimulation of the palace. Although it was obviously not what he had expected from life, there was no fruitless rumination, complaining, or self-pity.

Moses’s growing humility is evident in his response to God’s eventual call: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). His brash confidence was replaced by meekness and an apparent inability to view himself as a deliverer.

Lessons for Those Who Wait

What can we learn from Moses’s life that could help us wait well?

Waiting is never just waiting. In Midian, God fitted Moses for service — inside and out — while Moses thought he was just herding sheep. The deprivation, disorientation, and repetition that Moses experienced were sanctifying tools in the hands of a God who works all things for good for those called according to His purpose. Remembering God’s constant activity on our behalf can protect us from the confusion, grumbling, and self-pity that are common temptations while we wait. It also enables us to be faithful with whatever God provides, no matter how humble or unwanted.

In Midian, God fitted Moses for service — inside and out — while Moses thought he was just herding sheep. The deprivation, disorientation, and repetition that Moses experienced were sanctifying tools in the hands of a God who works all things for good for those called according to His purpose. Remembering God’s constant activity on our behalf can protect us from the confusion, grumbling, and self-pity that are common temptations while we wait. It also enables us to be faithful with whatever God provides, no matter how humble or unwanted. Waiting is about God. While God purposes to refine us in every season of life, waiting is not about us. Scripture tells us repeatedly that the Lord is at the center of our waiting. “But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer” (Ps. 38:15). “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (Ps. 39:7). “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Ps. 130:5). Moses was not perfected in Midian; yet his remaining inadequacies were as nothing because God was with him (Ex. 3:12). Since waiting is not about us or our circumstances, we should live resting on God’s promises, presence, and power.

While God purposes to refine us in every season of life, waiting is not about us. Scripture tells us repeatedly that the Lord is at the center of our waiting. “But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer” (Ps. 38:15). “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (Ps. 39:7). “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Ps. 130:5). Moses was not perfected in Midian; yet his remaining inadequacies were as nothing because God was with him (Ex. 3:12). Since waiting is not about us or our circumstances, we should live resting on God’s promises, presence, and power. Wait with purpose. Another temptation is to escape waiting with mindless distractions. Yet Moses’s attentiveness after forty years at the same job ensured that he didn’t miss God’s call to something more (Ex. 3:1-3). Matthew 25:1-13 reiterates the need for constant awareness in the parable of the ten virgins. Five were attentive and prepared for the bridegroom to appear, and five were merely waiting and missed out. We can redeem our waiting by cultivating attentiveness, intentionality, and eager expectation.

Another temptation is to escape waiting with mindless distractions. Yet Moses’s attentiveness after forty years at the same job ensured that he didn’t miss God’s call to something more (Ex. 3:1-3). Matthew 25:1-13 reiterates the need for constant awareness in the parable of the ten virgins. Five were attentive and prepared for the bridegroom to appear, and five were merely waiting and missed out. We can redeem our waiting by cultivating attentiveness, intentionality, and eager expectation. Remember what we’re waiting for. No matter how welcome a change in circumstances might be, that’s never what we’re ultimately waiting for. Remember, Moses left Midian only to wander in the wilderness for another forty years with obstinate Israelites. True joy, true relief from pain, struggle, boredom, sorrow, and loss will never be found in this life. But praise God, this life is not all there is. We are waiting for the return of King Jesus, who will take us to our eternal home in heaven with Him, where we will receive our hope, our inheritance, and our life without any more sadness or pain. This is the sure future Jesus died to secure for us, and it is worth the wait.

Questions for Reflection

What promises from God are most helpful to you in your waiting? How have you seen the Lord’s presence and activity as you wait?

Brenda has a Master of Arts in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary, and has completed the internship program at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. She counsels and teaches at her local church, Sterling Park Baptist Church, in Sterling, Virginia. Brenda and her husband, Dave, have three adult sons and enjoy viewing God’s creation from the top of mountains they really shouldn’t climb.