WHEN WAITING FEELS ENDLESS: TRUSTING GOD BEYOND THE DELAY
Even when God’s promise seems distant, His timing remains perfect and His word never fails.
“And the LORD did for Sarah what
he had promised.” – Genesis 21:1
Like
Sarah, we sometimes grow impatient with God and doubt His divine plans for us.
His plans for each one of us are perfect and complete. It doesn’t need our
striving to fulfil His promises; it requires our trust in Him. When waiting
feels endless, it can sometimes feel like God is distant and has forgotten
about you. Like Sarah, we come up with strategies and plans to help God with
His promises, which usually don’t work and end in conflict and disappointment.
As
you read on to Genesis 21:1, “Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had
said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.” God fulfilled His
promise to Sarah even in old age. This happened five chapters later, after she
got impatient with God. If she had known that in a few more chapters of her
life God would make a move, she wouldn’t have acted on her impatience, but
would have trusted God even more.
Isn’t
this always the same case with us? In our season of waiting, we complain a lot,
have doubts about His plans, and foolishly do things on our own, thinking that
God is distant, and yet we forget that in a few more chapters of our lives, He
has actually prepared the fulfilment of His promises to us.
Habakkuk
reminds us concerning God’s promises that “though it linger, wait for it; it
will certainly come and will not delay.” – Habakkuk 2:3. The truth about
God is, He’s never late or too early but always on time. What God says He will
do, He will certainly do it at His appointed time. Rather than acting on
impatience and doing things on your own, remember what He said concerning His
promises on your life and hold on to them because at His appointed time, He
will make a move.
When
you look at your circumstances right now, you may not see any signs of God
working or moving things. Like Sarah, things may still look the same in your
life, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t working. God works behind the
scenes, and His timing is never off- He works according to seasons of purpose
and not according to seconds on a clock. In a few more chapters of your life,
you will actually see that He’s been busy putting all things together, aligning
your heart and thoughts according to His purpose and strengthening your
faith.
It
is easy to give up on God when we focus only on what is right in front of us –
the things that are not working and the places where we feel stuck. Instead,
our eyes of faith need to look beyond the pain and delays. You may have prayed
and fasted for it, but still, nothing. This is the point where you
surrender your prayer and request unto God, and let Him handle it the best way He
can. If we strive to do it on our own and force things to happen the way and
when we want, it will end in resentment, bitterness, and so much pain.
However,
this is not how God expects us to wait on Him. Waiting on God is usually more
about the ‘How’ than the ‘What.’
Consider this, ‘How am I waiting on God? Am I always complaining
while I am waiting? How’s my attitude towards God? Do I still praise God even when
others get the blessings and I don't? How do I treat others while I am waiting?
What is God trying to teach me while I am waiting?’
The
season of waiting is usually a training season - time for growth. It is the
opportunity that God uses to grow our patience in Him, deepen our faith in Him,
refine our character and attitude, and prepare our hearts for the bigger
promise that awaits us. God doesn’t want us to receive his greatest gifts with
unrefined hearts that are full of envy, pride, anger, ungratefulness, and
impatience. While you are waiting on God, consider more on how you wait than
what you are waiting for.
Let
your season of waiting be full of praises to God, thanking Him for His greater
plans that are still on the way. Give more to others who are in need and probably
in the same situation as you. Not just material things, but also in service. Remember,
God is in control of your life and He knows what’s best for you. Trust in His
plans even when the waiting seems unbearable and endless. Your attitude in times
of waiting shouts louder than what you are waiting for.
We
are reminded in Hebrews 10:36, “You need to persevere so that when you have
done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” The same God
who promised Sarah a child and still fulfilled His promise even in her old age,
when it seemed impossible, is still faithful to His word that He said to you. And whatever promises He proclaimed
in your life, He will still do them at His appointed time. Hold on to Him; He
never lets down those who put their hope in Him. “Let us old unswervingly to
the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23
There’s
great joy when God fulfils His promises to His people. When God fulfilled His
promise to Sarah, she said, “God has brought me laughter…who would have said that
Sarah would nurse children?” – Genesis 21. I believe God has ‘Who would have
thought?’ statements prepared in advance for us when we choose to hold on
to Him. Like Sarah, in a few more chapters, you would be singing “Who would
have thought…?”
When
waiting feels endless and faith is stretched too thin, it’s an indicator that
God has something better and greater than what we hoped for. His timing is
always perfect, never too early or too late. He is never distant in seasons of
waiting. His grace sustains us even in difficult chapters of our lives when we
feel like He’s distant. It is my prayer that,
while we are waiting, we may recognise what God is doing in our lives,
acknowledge the things He wants for us, and have a teachable spirit and be aligned
to His will. The Chapter you are in right now may be difficult, but in a few
more chapters, God has prepared the ’Who would have thought…?”
statements of joy for you. Hold on, God is close and never distant.
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