How many of us have had people say to us “have faith and be patient?" Have you ever felt like you’ve been giving your all and trusting in the Lord, and then you’re still having to wait for weeks or months or years? We all want good things to happen in our lives, but too often we want it now…not later. When it doesn’t happen that way, we are tempted to ask, “When God, when?” We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting because change is a process. Many people want the change, but they don’t want to go through the waiting process. But the truth is, waiting is a given—we are going to wait. We are not alone in this waiting game. God has made it clear in his word that many Godly men had to wait too.

Jesus could have come and healed Lazarus when he was still alive. Instead, He waited to raise him from the dead when he was already in his grave.

God could have gotten Joseph out of prison one year after he was sentenced there. Instead, he was stuck in that dungeon for 10 years before he was finally set free.

God could have spoken to Moses in the desert about sending him to help free his people from slavery 40 days after he ran away from Egypt. Instead, He made him wait for 40 long years.

God could have made David become king the day after he was anointed. Instead, he waited 15 years to rise to the throne, many of those years spent fearing for his life, hiding out and running away from his own father-in-law.

God could have given Abraham the son He promised him when he was still a young man. Instead, He waited until he was 100 years old.

God could have answered prayers and met the needs of these men of God at any time, but He didn’t. He made them wait instead.

God may be making you wait too. He might make us wait for healing to come after we’ve been praying for years and there is no sign of recovery. He makes us wait to fulfill His call in our lives after He puts the yearning and passion in our hearts to serve Him in a certain way. God makes us wait to give us a desire into our hearts. He makes us wait for direction, when we don’t know which way to turn or what to do.

God could answer that same prayer that you’ve been praying for years every night in a millisecond. That prayer may be making you cry, making you question if He hears, but remember…

He kept Joseph in a prison cell for 10 years, Moses in a desert for 40 years, David on the run for 15 years and Abraham without a child for 100 years.

God is probably keeping you right where you’re at for the same reason He kept these men waiting for so many years: to build your faith.

To build your faith in a dungeon cell, during the valley in your life where it’s too dark to see and too hard to believe. To build your dependence on Him when you are too empty to see if He is truly all you desire and all you need. To see how well you will trust and serve Him when you feel your life is not of importance. To build your trust in Him when the storm keeps raging, the battle keeps going and breakthrough and victory doesn’t seem near.

What is it that you are waiting for? What are you longing to be fulfilled? What prayer do you keep on praying that seems to never reach God’s ears? I want to remind you that God is listening, and he is not blind to you tears, desires and needs. If God is making you wait, there is a good reason for it.

If he is telling you “no” today, maybe it’s because He has a better “yes” waiting for you tomorrow. If He is keeping you in the same place you’ve always been today, maybe it’s because he is building your faith before you enter your Promised Land tomorrow. If God is not healing you or bringing you a victory today, maybe you will have a greater testimony when He waits to help you be an overcomer tomorrow.

Wherever you are today, know that God is right beside you and has a plan and purpose for you. Even if that purpose is to wait.

I know it’s a struggle to wait, but have patience, be kind and don’t give up just because you don’t see anything happening today. Don’t allow your waiting period to make you hopeless about what tomorrow will bring.

Don’t be discouraged if your future isn’t figured out yet. Continue to praise God and serve Him in the hallway while you wait for Him to open the right doors in your life.

God made some of the greatest men of faith wait. Don’t be discouraged if He is making you wait too. God will provide for you, just like He provided for them.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.” – Jeremiah 29:11