Why God lets you wait

Is there something you’ve been waiting for for a long time? Maybe it’s your future husband, or some medical breakthrough, or an advancement in your career. Maybe you’ve been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby. Or maybe you have a dream – some passion that’s been smoldering inside of you since you were young.

Sometimes the thought of it hurts your heart a little. You try to bury it so you don’t feel, but you can’t bury yourself. Proverbs 13:12 says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” So how do you wait for the desire of your heart without getting heartsick?

I knew I wanted to lead worship by the time I was thirteen. I also knew I wanted a family at a young age. Really wanted one. Like now. I didn’t start leading worship until almost ten years later. I didn’t get married until I was twenty-seven. I also spent a good amount of time in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit waiting to see if my son would live, and whether or not he would be sent home with an NG tube. More about that story here. So I know a little about waiting.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.” So what is the difference between letting hope deferred making you heartsick and being strengthened by waiting on the LORD?

The distinction between the two is this: what are you doing while you wait? Are you obsessing over your circumstance, or are your eyes fixed on God, trusting that He has your future in His hands?Why is waiting even necessary? Clearly the thing you’re waiting for is a good thing, right? Why would God withhold it from you? Why not just let you have it now? Why the delay in answered prayer?

The Bible is filled with characters who had to wait for their desires. Abraham waited for God’s promise of a great nation, Hannah waited for a son, John the Baptist and Jesus were called to greatness at a young age and yet waited until the appointed time to enter their ministry.

The reason God makes me wait is this: He has a fabulous destiny for me that is greater than I can imagine, but my heart isn’t ready for it. I’m not ready. First of all, I have a thousand little character flaws that are getting ironed out in the process of me not getting what I want instantly. Second, don’t you know that what you want is not always what you expect? I waited years for a husband, not fully understanding that God was going to use my relationship with this amazing man of God to shape me further into His image, because boy, is marriage work!

The things that I’m waiting for (with my eyes fixed on God) I’m not ready for. I need to wait. I need to mature and grow. God’s faithfulness is steady and unchanging. He sees me and knows me and He knows the seasons. When the time is right, He will fulfill His promise to me.

Click here to read How to Have Faith When Your Mountain Is Huge.

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