Waiting is hard: for an answer, for a prayer to be heard, for a season to end. It can feel as if everyone else has moved on and you've been left behind. Scripture has a lot to say to people who are waiting, and much of it is gentle.
There is a season for this
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)
Your present season isn't a mistake in the calendar. It's a season, and seasons change.
When the answer seems slow
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
Habakkuk 2:3 (KJV)
Habakkuk was living through a time when God seemed slow to act. This word came to him there.
When you need courage to keep waiting
“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
Psalm 27:14 (KJV)
David says it twice, as if he knew once wouldn't be enough. Waiting takes courage.
When your life feels out of your hands
“My times are in thy hand”
Psalm 31:15 (KJV)
Five words to say on a day when nothing is going to plan.
When you wonder whether God is good
“The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”
Lamentations 3:25 (KJV)
This line comes from one of the saddest books in the Bible. The writer says it from inside the grief, not after it.
When you feel behind
“I the LORD will hasten it in his time.”
Isaiah 60:22 (KJV)
"Hasten" and "in his time" sit side by side here. God's pace may not be ours, and that doesn't mean He's late.
A short prayer for seasons of waiting
Lord, I don't understand the timing. I'm tired of waiting, and You know it. Help me to trust You with what I can't see, and to be faithful with what's in front of me today. Amen.
If you're in a long wait, a small daily practice can help. Here's a simple way to start a daily devotional, and what to do when God feels quiet.
Save this card, or send it to someone who needs it. In Fig Devotional, every reflection ends with a card like this one.
Common questions
What does the Bible say about God's timing?
Scripture teaches that God works in seasons and that His timing can differ from ours. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says there is a time to every purpose, and Habakkuk 2:3 encourages waiting even when an answer seems slow.
How do I trust God's timing?
Many people find it helps to keep praying honestly, stay faithful in the small things in front of them, and remember what God has already done. Trust doesn't require you to stop feeling impatient.
Why does God make us wait?
The Bible doesn't give a single answer, and it doesn't pretend that waiting is easy. The Psalms include plenty of honest questions about how long it will take.