Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life

Mark Vroegop (MDiv, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis and the author of the ECPA 2020 Christian Book of the Year Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament. He's married to Sarah, and they have four children and three daughters-in-law.

Endorsements:

"Years ago a friend said to me, 'The only thing worse than waiting on the Lord is wishing you had.' Most of us, in varying degrees, don't like to wait. But all of us will wait, and we will wait on God. His timetable doesn't always sync with ours. What do we do while we wait? Mark Vroegop teaches us that waiting on God is living on what we know to be true about God when we don't know what is true about our life. Thank you, Mark, for sharing with us how and why to wait and doing so in such a clear, biblical, transferable way. What a treasure!"
--Crawford W. Loritts Jr., speaker; radio host; author; Founder and President, Beyond Our Generation

"Waiting is one of the most difficult parts of life, yet also the most common. Most of life involves waiting. The speed of modern life tempts us to view all waiting as a waste. Mark Vroegop helps us develop a biblical framework for waiting on God, inviting us to see times of waiting as opportunities for worship and growth. Viewed rightly, waiting provides pathways to contentment and calmness-a healthy, nonpressured embracing of life as God intended it. This timely, readable book will be edifying to everyone who reads it."
--Gavin Ortlund, President, Truth Unites; Theologian-in-Residence, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee

"Waiting fills the gap between our current reality and our unrealized expectations. While we may feel stuck, forgotten, disappointed, and confused, Mark Vroegop's new book Waiting Isn't a Waste faithfully reminds us that God is purposefully at work in transformative ways. This book is a helpful and needed encouragement to live in the truth of what we know about God when we don't understand his plan for our lives."
--Melissa B. Kruger, author; Vice President of Discipleship Programming, The Gospel Coalition

"I had no idea the Bible said so much about waiting. As someone with a terrible reputation for being impatient, this is not surprising. This book is a godsend to me and others in our day. How desperately we need to hear the biblical and practical wisdom it contains."
--Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"It is hard to think of a less requested yet more urgently needed project than a rehabilitation of our practical theology of waiting. Packed with insight into the intersection of waiting and hope, waiting and intentionality, waiting and the trustworthiness of God, waiting and building enduring Christian community, this book is laden with distillations of Scripture that I sincerely pray will change how you and I live every day for the rest of our lives."
--J. Alasdair Groves, Executive Director, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation; coauthor, Untangling Emotions

"I stink at waiting. I really do. In recent days, I have been reminded of this. This is why I was thankful to know this rare, timely book had been written. Waiting Isn't a Waste was exactly what I needed to press against my impatience and remind me how much waiting is a part of God's good plan for all of us. Everything Mark Vroegop writes is clear, biblical, practical, and thoughtful, and this book is no exception. Whether you are a pastor, church member, or simply someone looking for hope in the waiting, this book is definitely for you. I know of nothing like it."
--Brian Croft, Executive Director, Practical Shepherding

"With Mark Vroegop as your guide, learning to wait can be one of the greatest journeys you will embark on. He invites us to see what we experience as annoyances and long seasons of anxiety as opportunities to discover who God is and his tender care of us. Vroegop does not ask us to ignore the challenges of waiting or trivialize the anxiety we feel. Instead, Waiting Isn't a Waste encourages us to embrace waiting because when we do, we will find ourselves on the path to flourishing."
--Darby Strickland, Faculty and Counselor, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation