Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Episode: 12/07/25 Waiting Well: Trust His Timing
Date: December 6, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz (Ascension)

Episode Overview

This episode's homily by Fr. Mike Schmitz is part of the Advent series "Waiting Well." Fr. Mike explores the theme of waiting—how difficult it is, the reasons it troubles us, and what it reveals about our relationship with God. He calls listeners to embrace trust—both in God's goodness and in His timing—so that our seasons of waiting become opportunities for hope, not anxiety.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge of Waiting in Advent (02:13)

• Advent is a season of preparation and, crucially, of waiting—a discipline that our culture resists.
• Fr. Mike discusses how people preemptively jump into Christmas festivities to avoid the discomfort of waiting.
• Psychology of Waiting: He references David Maister’s research, highlighting four types of difficult waits:
  • Unoccupied time
  • Uncertain wait times
  • Unexplained waits
  • Unfair waits
• Businesses (like Disney, restaurants, or Domino's) use strategies to make waiting more tolerable (interactive experiences, transparency, providing updates).

2. The Connection Between Waiting and Worry (06:11)

• "What we do when we don't know why and when it's going to end, is we worry."
• Worry stems from uncertainty in waiting. This anxiety distracts us from the present and robs us of joy.
• Statistical Insight: Fr. Mike notes a stat: 91.4% of what we worry about doesn’t happen, yet we suffer by "pre-living" possible pains.
• Quote:

  "The one who worries makes themselves suffer twice." (08:29)

3. Worry as the Opposite of Trust (10:19)

• Citing Tim Keller, Fr. Mike summarizes:
  "Bitterness is believing that God got it wrong. And worry is not believing that God will get it right." (10:19)
• Worry betrays a lack of trust in God's goodness or His timing.

4. Trusting God’s Goodness (10:59)

• Fr. Mike observes that today’s core spiritual question isn’t "does God exist?" but "is God good?"—especially among young adults.
• He traces this mistrust back to Genesis, noting that the serpent’s first temptation was to mistrust God’s goodness.
• "Virtually everything after that story is God trying to win our trust, trying to prove to us that He can be trusted." (12:00)
• Jesus’ humble birth, poverty, suffering, and injustice are proof that God has entered every aspect of human pain and is trustworthy.

5. Trusting God’s Timing (14:28)

• Many people may accept that "God is good," but still struggle to trust "His timing."
• David’s story (1 Samuel—2 Samuel):
  • Anointed as king as a teenager, but waits 15 years before actually ruling.
  • During the wait, he is called to engage, live faithfully, and trust both God’s goodness and His timing (16:32).
• Fr. Mike's Personal Example:
  He shares about discerning his vocation and needing to trust that if God wanted him to change directions, He would make it clear—and in time. (17:55–19:01)
  • Quote:

    “I trust that you brought me here. I trust that if you want me to leave, you’ll let me know in a way I can't miss, and you’ll let me know in time.” (18:21–19:01)

  • Finding peace in this trust replaced worry with calm assurance.

6. The Freedom of Present-Moment Trust (19:36)

• Fr. Mike challenges listeners:
  If you knew your problem would be resolved tomorrow, would you still let it ruin today?

  “Why let it spoil right now?” (20:11)

• Regardless of outcomes or timing, God will work things out—though perhaps not as we expect.

7. Trust Leads to Hope (20:49)

• Referencing Romans, he states:

  "By endurance you grow in hope." (20:58)

• Waiting well—waiting in trust and without worry—cultivates hope, because we’re hoping not just for an outcome, but in the character of God Himself.

8. Inviting God into Every Part of Us (21:48)

• True trust means surrendering not just our strengths but our weaknesses and even our sins to God.
• Mention of a campus reconciliation service—a practical opportunity to entrust everything to God.

9. Choosing Trust Now (22:21)

• Fr. Mike shares an inner dialogue about impatience: wanting a resolution just to stop worrying.

• “Why? I want this now so I can stop worrying... You could just stop worrying now.” (22:55)

• We persist in anxiety not because resolution isn’t available, but often because we haven’t chosen trust.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On worry and waiting:

  "Worry chokes the joy out of life." (06:40)
  "Worry dominates our thoughts with these ideas of 'what if?,' and... it's most often not 'what if something amazing happens,' but 'what if something awful happens?'" (07:32)

• On God’s trustworthiness:

  "There's no part of my heart, no part of my life that he keeps himself away from." (14:05)

• On timing and surrender:

  "God, I trust that you brought me here. God, I trust that if you want me to leave, you'll let me know. God, I trust you'll let me know in a way I can't miss. And I trust that if you want me to leave, you'll let me know in time." (18:21–19:01)

• On hope through faithful waiting:

  "By endurance you grow in hope." (20:58)
  "There’s something we’re hoping for, and it’s not an outcome, it’s not a result. It’s the character of God." (21:16)

• On the option to stop worrying:

  “You could just stop worrying now. That actually is an option.” (22:55)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Advent & the discomfort with waiting: 02:13–06:11
• Why we worry and its effects: 06:11–10:19
• Bitterness, worry, and trust issues: 10:19–10:59
• Trust struggles of our age—God's goodness: 10:59–13:56
• Christmas and the trustworthiness of God: 13:28–14:23
• Trusting God's timing (David’s story, Fr. Mike's testimony): 14:28–19:01
• Living in the present, freedom from worry: 19:36–20:49
• Endurance, hope, and trusting with our sins: 20:49–21:53
• Choosing to trust now (inner dialogue): 22:21–23:14

Conclusion

Fr. Mike’s homily calls listeners to examine their hearts in this Advent season: Are you willing to trust God’s goodness and His timing? True waiting, well done, is an act of trust—a refusal to let worry steal the present, because God is good, and His timing is perfect. Instead of hoping for a resolution to remove anxiety, Fr. Mike invites everyone to choose trust—and lay down worry—now.

Final Invitation:

"We don’t have to worry. We simply have to trust. And that’s what it is, to wait well." (23:14)