When the Wait Feels Endless

Read

Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Think

Waiting is one of the hardest things God asks us to do. We live in a world of instant replies, same-day delivery, and drive-through everything. If we want something, we can usually get it fast. Which makes God’s pace feel painfully slow sometimes.

David knew that tension. He had been anointed king as a teenager, yet it would be years before he sat on the throne. During that gap, he faced betrayal, exile, and danger. But in Psalm 27:14, he tells himself — and us — to wait for the Lord. Not wait for the perfect circumstances. Not wait for the problem to solve itself. Wait for the Lord.

The truth is, God often works in the waiting. We see it all through Scripture. Abraham and Sarah waited decades for the promised child. Joseph waited in prison for years before his release. The Israelites waited forty years before entering the Promised Land. Even Jesus waited thirty years before starting his public ministry. In each story, the waiting was not wasted. God was shaping their character, deepening their trust, and aligning them with his timing.

Waiting is not passive. It is active trust. It is choosing to stay where God has placed you until he says move. Like a soldier on guard duty, you may not see much action, but your presence matters. Like a farmer after planting, you cannot force the crop to grow faster, but you can water, protect, and prepare for the harvest.

The hard part is that waiting can feel like nothing is happening. We pray, and nothing changes. We plan, and doors stay shut. We hope, and time keeps passing. In those moments, it is tempting to take matters into our own hands. Saul did that in 1 Samuel 13 when he grew impatient waiting for Samuel and offered the sacrifice himself. It cost him his kingdom. When we rush ahead of God’s timing, we often end up with a result we have to manage in our own strength.

There is a reason the verse says “be strong and take heart.” Waiting can wear you down. It can drain hope. It can make you second-guess what God said. That is why strength is needed — not to push ahead, but to hold steady.

Think about waiting rooms. Nobody likes them, but they serve a purpose. They are the space where preparation happens before the next step — a doctor reviews your chart, a job interview is being arranged, a table is being made ready. You are not forgotten; you are being prepared. God’s waiting room works the same way.

In the waiting, God may be protecting you from something you cannot yet see. He may be aligning circumstances you do not yet know about. He may be growing in you the very qualities you will need when the answer finally comes. The waiting is part of the answer.

Isaiah 40:31 promises that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Notice it does not say “those who wait will feel rested” — it says their strength will be renewed. Waiting on God draws you into deeper dependence. It teaches you to rely on his strength instead of your own.

If you are in a season of waiting right now, you are not stuck — you are being held. And the same God who began the work in you will bring it to completion at the right time. When the breakthrough comes, it will be worth every moment you stayed faithful in the gap.

Apply

If you are in a season where God has you waiting, resist the urge to fill the silence with your own solutions. Instead, write down three ways you can stay faithful right where you are — in prayer, in service, and in trust. Ask God to show you one specific step of obedience you can take today while you wait, and thank him in advance for what he is preparing even if you cannot see it yet.

Pray

God, waiting is hard for me. I like answers, and I like them fast. But I know your timing is better than mine. Help me to trust you in the delay, to stay faithful in the in-between, and to believe that you are working even when I cannot see it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.