--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To wait is not to sit with folded hands…" description: "\"To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told.\" — Oswald Chambers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/oswald-chambers-205_hands_to-wait-is-not-to-sit-with-folded-hands_1507134.png" --- # To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to… ![“To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told.” quote by Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/oswald-chambers-205_hands_to-wait-is-not-to-sit-with-folded-hands_1507134.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/oswald-chambers-205_hands_to-wait-is-not-to-sit-with-folded-hands_1507134.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/oswald-chambers-205_hands_to-wait-is-not-to-sit-with-folded-hands_1507134.png) > “To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told.” [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patience involves active obedience, not passive waiting. **In simple terms:** Patience is active obedience. Key Takeaway Practice disciplined waiting. Themes patience obedience spiritual growth Mood reflective spiritual Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - prayer - service - personal development Key Concepts theology self‑discipline mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you turn waiting into purposeful action? - What disciplines help maintain patience? A Different Perspective Passive waiting can become stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hands Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-learn-573419/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Learn Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-told-1780955/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Sit Folded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit-folded-5539967/) [Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait/) [Wait Sit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-sit-436248/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [Wait on God and He will work, but don't wait in spiritual sulks because you cannot see an inch in front of you! Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/wait-on-god-and-he-will-work-but-don-t-wait-in-spiritual-sulks/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [For the title, if they say, 'Ok, let's sit and wait,' I will sit and wait because I know it's a once in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demian-maia/for-the-title-if-they-say-ok-let-s-sit-and-wait-i-will-sit-and-wait/) [Demian Maia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demian-maia/) > [You can't wait and sit for the phone to ring, so I do theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zimbalist/you-can-t-wait-and-sit-for-the-phone-to-ring-so-i-do-theater/) [Stephanie Zimbalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zimbalist/) > [Whenever we go to the cinema in Mexico, we have to get taken in two minutes before the film starts. We sit in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-jimenez/whenever-we-go-to-the-cinema-in-mexico-we-have-to-get-taken-in-two/) [Raul Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-jimenez/) > [“People never learn anything by being told, they have to findout for themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-never-learn-anything-by-being-told-they-have-to-findout-for/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Something to learn about me,” I told him, “I’m a Snooze Button Girl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/something-to-learn-about-me-i-told-him-i-m-a-snooze-button-girl/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [she considered the possibility of telling her about everything that was happening, but then she changed her mind; people never learn anything by being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-considered-the-possibility-of-telling-her-about-everything-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-never-learn-anything-by-being-told-they-have-to-find-out-for/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“People don't learn when they're told, They should find out themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-don-t-learn-when-they-re-told-they-should-find-out-themselves/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Hands learn more than minds do, hands learn how to hold other hands...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/hands-learn-more-than-minds-do-hands-learn-how-to-hold-other-hands/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [Your hands learn to do things that you could spend a whole day trying to write about and articulate. 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I will learn what you teach and do the best that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/i-am-ready-for-love-if-you-ll-take-me-in-your-hands-i-will-learn-what/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) > [“Sometimes you have to let everything off your hands and learn something new.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-sellers/sometimes-you-have-to-let-everything-off-your-hands-and-learn/) [Madison Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-sellers/) ## More by Oswald Chambers > [“If we deliberately choose to obey God, then He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-we-deliberately-choose-to-obey-god-then-he-will-tax-the-remotest/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/realize-that-the-lord-is-here-now-and-the-freedom-you-receive-is/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/you-will-never-cease-to-be-the-most-amazed-person-on-earth-at-what/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/when-jesus-christ-shed-his-blood-on-the-cross-it-was-not-the-blood-of/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/sorrow-burns-up-a-great-amount-of-shallowness/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/let-circumstances-take-you-where-they-will-but-keep-drawing-on-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-goal-of-faithfulness-is-not-that-we-will-do-work-for-god-but-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-are-in-danger-of-forgetting-that-we-cannot-do-what-god-does-and/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God's children starving while actually seated at the Father's table.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/it-is-a-solemn-thing-and-no-small-scandal-in-the-kingdom-to-see-god-s/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“If my holiness is not drawing towards Him, it is not holiness of the right order, but an influence that will awaken inordinate affection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-holiness-is-not-drawing-towards-him-it-is-not-holiness-of-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“My spiritual history must have as its underlying foundation a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. To be born again means that I see Jesus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/my-spiritual-history-must-have-as-its-underlying-foundation-a/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [We always have visions, before a thing is made real. 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