To Be or Not to Be 🤔 To Have and to Hold?!?

Lauretta Scott

Oct 21

9 min read

When Waiting on God Becomes Part of the Answer

Written by Lauretta Scott

ipublishub-Books — Publishing with Purpose & Faith

Hey, Blog Friends and Family! ❤️

TO BE OR NOT TO BE?!?

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD?!?

Now, wait a minute! 😂

Before anybody gets too excited, let me make something perfectly clear!

THIS BLOG IS NOT ABOUT MARRIAGE! 🤣

I know! I know!

“To have and to hold” sounds exactly like something you would hear at a wedding ceremony.

But that’s NOT where we’re going today!

As a matter of fact, this is what came to my mind this morning.

And immediately, I found myself asking:

“Lord, is this the title for today’s blog?”

To be perfectly honest, as of right now, I’m not even sure!

But here we are! 😂

So, let’s walk this one out together and see where it takes us!

🤔 To Be or Not to Be — That Is the Question!

Have you ever found yourself slightly confused—or maybe even completely overwhelmed—trying to figure out whether something in your life is TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

And mind you, I’m NOT talking about marriage!

I’m talking about those moments when you’re wrestling with:

Ideas that won’t leave your mind.
Situations you don’t fully understand.
Confirmation you’re seeking but haven’t received.
Conflicts that leave you questioning your next move.
Life-changing decisions that could alter the direction of your future.

Have you ever been there?

Only to discover that you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Not necessarily because you made a wrong decision.

Not because you deliberately chose to remain stuck.

But because your heart genuinely desires to be in alignment—PERFECT ALIGNMENT—with the will of God!

And sometimes, that desire to please God makes you even more cautious about moving forward.

Because you don’t want to move ahead of Him!

But you certainly don’t want to fall behind Him either!

OH, WHAT A PLACE TO BE! 🥹

Those are the moments when we must seek God in His truth and righteousness.

❤️ When You’re Standing in an Uncomfortable Place

Let me ask you another question.

Have you ever found yourself in a place for a very long time?

Not necessarily physically stuck, but mentally, emotionally, or even spiritually?

A place where you’re uncertain about where you belong, what you’re supposed to be doing, or which direction you’re supposed to take?

And no matter how much you think about it, you still don’t have a clear answer!

Y’all, that is NOT always a comfortable place to be!

As a matter of fact, sometimes it’s extremely uncomfortable! 🥹

I’ve been there!

And if everything had been left up to me, I probably would have chosen a completely different route!

But here’s the thing.

God’s ways are not our ways!

Isaiah 55:8–9 (KJV) reminds us:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

And the Scripture continues by explaining that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways and thoughts higher than ours.

In other words:

OUR WAYS ARE ABSOLUTELY NO MATCH FOR GOD’S WAYS!

We can plan, calculate, organize, and try to figure everything out.

But God sees what we cannot see!

He knows what we do not know!

And He understands the beginning, the middle, and the ending before we ever take the first step.

So why is it sometimes so difficult to trust Him?

Especially when we’re trying to determine whether something is TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

⏳ We Want the Answer RIGHT NOW!

Let’s be honest!

We live in what I like to call a microwave society!

We want everything quick, fast, and in a hurry!

We want the answer TODAY!

Not tomorrow!

Not next week!

And certainly not next year! 😂

“Lord, I prayed about this yesterday! What’s taking so long?!”

But here’s something I’ve come to understand.

God is not operating according to our microwave mentality!

He works from an eternal perspective.

He is never confused.

Never surprised.

And never scrambling to figure out what to do next!

His purposes are established, even when their fulfillment has not yet appeared in our lives.

Isaiah 46:10 (KJV) says:

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done…”

Now, think about that!

God already knows the outcome of the very thing we’re still trying to figure out!

THE ANSWER IS NOT HIDDEN FROM GOD—IT SIMPLY HAS NOT BEEN REVEALED TO US YET!

And sometimes, I believe God allows us to remain in that place of waiting because He wants something far greater than simply giving us an answer.

HE WANTS OUR FELLOWSHIP!

He wants us to seek Him.

To sit in His presence.

To develop patience.

To trust His wisdom.

And to understand that His timing is perfect, even when it feels painfully slow to us.

Psalm 27:14 (KJV) declares:

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Notice something!

The Scripture doesn’t simply tell us to wait.

It tells us to BE OF GOOD COURAGE WHILE WE WAIT!

Now, that’s something worth thinking about!

✝️ Even Jesus Endured the Process!

Let me take this blog a little deeper.

When God manifested Himself in the flesh through the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus Christ, He came for the redemption of mankind.

But before Jesus completed His redemptive work through His death, burial, and resurrection, He walked through a process.

A process that involved patience, obedience, suffering, rejection, and surrender.

And although Jesus knew His divine assignment, He did not bypass the path that led to its fulfillment.

Let’s look at five examples.

1. Jesus Endured the Waiting Process

Luke 2:51–52

Before Jesus began His public ministry at approximately thirty years of age, He lived a life of growth and preparation.

He submitted to His earthly parents and increased in wisdom and stature.

Think about that!

The Son of God did not rush ahead of the appointed time.

Lesson: Just because God has called you to something doesn’t mean the time has arrived for its fulfillment.

Sometimes preparation must come before manifestation!

2. Jesus Endured Temptation in the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1–11

Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights.

And during that time, Satan tempted Him.

But Jesus refused to compromise His obedience to God.

He answered temptation with the Word!

Lesson: Not every opportunity placed before you is an opportunity God wants you to take.

Sometimes the temptation is to take a shortcut because you’re tired of waiting!

But obedience is more important than immediate gratification.

3. Jesus Endured Rejection and Betrayal

Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11; Matthew 26:14–16

Jesus was rejected by many of the very people He came to save.

And imagine this!

One of His own disciples, Judas, betrayed Him!

Yet Jesus did not allow rejection or betrayal to prevent Him from fulfilling His Father’s will.

Lesson: Not everyone will understand your journey.

Some may reject you.

Others may disappoint you.

But you cannot allow their actions to determine whether you will obey God.

4. Jesus Endured the Agony of Gethsemane

Luke 22:42–44

Now, this one right here! 🥹

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus experienced tremendous anguish as He faced the suffering ahead.

Yet He prayed:

“Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” — Luke 22:42 (KJV)

What a powerful expression of surrender!

Jesus did not allow the agony of the moment to turn Him away from His Father’s will.

Lesson: Sometimes the greatest victory in prayer is not getting the answer we wanted.

It’s reaching the place where we can genuinely say:

“LORD, NOT MY WILL, BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE!”

5. Jesus Endured the Cross for the Joy Set Before Him

Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 2:8–9

Jesus endured humiliation, false accusations, physical suffering, and crucifixion.

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV) declares:

“Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…”

Jesus looked beyond the suffering toward the fulfillment of His Father’s redemptive purpose.

Lesson: What you’re experiencing today is not necessarily the conclusion of your story.

Sometimes you must endure the process before reaching the purpose.

And Jesus is our greatest example of faithful endurance!

🔥 Before You Ask God, “To Be or Not to Be?”

Now, Blog Friends and Family!

Before we get in such a hurry to know whether something is TO BE OR NOT TO BE, perhaps we need to ask ourselves a few other questions.

Have I allowed God to prepare me for what I’m asking Him to reveal?

Am I willing to endure the process before reaching the other side of what I’m waiting for?

Have I resisted the temptation to take shortcuts simply because I’m tired of waiting?

Have I allowed hardship, rejection, disappointment, or betrayal to weaken my trust in God?

Have I spent time seeking God through prayer, and when appropriate, fasting, rather than demanding an immediate answer?

And here’s the biggest question!

AM I WILLING TO ACCEPT GOD’S ANSWER, EVEN IF IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ANSWER I WANTED?

Whew! 🥹

Now, that one right there might require us to sit quietly for a moment!

Because sometimes we say we want God’s will, but what we really want is for God to approve the will we’ve already chosen!

Ouch!

Did I just say that?! 😂

Yes, I did!

And I’m talking to myself, too!

🤔 What Does “To Be or Not to Be” Really Mean?

Now, let’s break down this famous expression.

“To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

These words come from William Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet.

And although some people might associate the phrase with marriage vows, it actually has nothing to do with marriage.

In the play, Hamlet wrestles with a serious question about life, suffering, death, and the uncertainty of what comes afterward.

In its original context, “to be” means to continue living, while “not to be” raises the possibility of ending one’s life.

But for the purpose of this blog, I’m using the expression differently.

I’m using it as a question about discernment, direction, patience, and surrendering our decisions to God.

Because sometimes we’re standing between two possibilities.

TO BE: To move forward, remain committed, continue building, or embrace what God has placed before us.

NOT TO BE: To release something, change direction, close a chapter, or recognize that what we’re holding on to may not be part of God’s plan for our lives.

And here’s what makes this so interesting!

Sometimes we’re so focused on deciding between those two options that we overlook a third possibility.

WAIT!

That’s right!

Not yes.

Not no.

But WAIT!

And waiting doesn’t always mean God has denied your request.

Sometimes it means the timing isn’t right.

Sometimes additional preparation is necessary.

And sometimes God is teaching us to trust Him without knowing every detail of what comes next.