November 10, 2026
Waiting on God is not only difficult, sometimes it seems impossible. We want things to happen in our own timing, according to our plans. But God doesn’t operate on our schedules, and expecting that He will sets one up for disappointment.
Waiting on God means going without answers to prayer, wondering why the wicked seem to prosper, and having desires delayed and hope deferred. God has a greater perspective of life’s events, and His perspective, plans, and schedules are perfect and holy, because He is perfect and holy. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30). If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever His timing—is also perfect. …
One divine attribute that will enable us to patiently wait on God is His sovereignty. … Once we better understand God’s sovereignty, coupled with His goodness, waiting for God to act becomes a matter of a child trusting in his father’s faithfulness, sure of his father’s strength.
Waiting on God is never easy, but we wait in the knowledge that God knows our situation, He cares for our needs, and He is good to the end.—Got Questions1
*
A tip for embracing change is to not try to “prepare” too much or imagine “what if” scenarios to try to figure everything out in advance. We all do this sometimes, and it’s natural to want to try to prepare for any eventuality. But the fact is that God gives us the grace when the time comes, when the change is introduced. So the best thing we can do while we’re waiting is to place our trust in Him, strengthen our faith, and try to avoid worrying about it.
Some changes can take quite some time to fully come about. In the meantime, it can be a test of our patience—because most of us want to see progress and results now! That’s just the way we humans are. But God has His reasons for letting so many things in life take time, and it’s often because they work out better that way. The time involved helps us to grow through the change, to understand more about His nature and plan for our lives and the way He works, and to be more well rounded in our experience and lives. It teaches us faith and trust. It teaches us to hold on. It teaches us patience. As the classic verse teaches, “Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing” (James 1:4).
And, while you’re waiting for changes that are coming your way, there is plenty to put your heart and mind and efforts toward right now, today, to pave the way for whatever God will bring about in your life tomorrow or in the future. If you embrace the changes that are already here, it will strengthen you today, and it will prepare you in heart, mind, and spirit to embrace the changes that are yet to come.
As Christians, we have nothing to worry about and everything to be hopeful about when it comes to the future, no matter what challenges and trials it may bring. God is in control, and we can rest in the truth that any change He brings into our lives will ultimately work for our good, and for the good of others whom He has called us to love and to reach with His love.—Maria Fontaine
*
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. … If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22–23,25).
It’s interesting that Paul uses the word “fruit” to describe these attributes, because like any natural fruit, it takes time for them to grow, develop, and mature.
I wish these fruits were given to us as soon as we became followers of Christ in their mature state, but they aren’t.
Patience is also the only fruit of the Spirit that is bound by time.
You can only learn patience when you are forced to wait for something, and patience is a necessary character-developer that our culture is removing with instant gratification.
We have lost the art of waiting.
I have had dreams God has placed in my heart and I have been guilty of immediately taking it upon myself to try and force it to happen now. I couldn’t comprehend why God would give me a dream and then make me wait.
Because of my inability to wait, I took steps prematurely and the dreams were never fully realized because I moved before God told me to. ... I learned the hard way when I don’t trust God’s timing I get impatient, and impatience has caused me to take roads I was never intended to take.
When we become impatient, we become discontent. And when we are discontent we make poor choices, choices that we think would fast-track us to our destination, but we end in disappointment and bitterness. …
When we wait we have to learn how to love in ways we haven’t loved before.
When we wait we learn to have joy where we are now, not wait to have joy when we get there.
When we wait we learn to have peace because the alternative is anxiety.
When we wait we learn to be faithful to the path He has placed us on and to those around us when a lot of times we want to abandon it all for something easier.
When we wait we learn self-control because we would rather indulge in the desires of our flesh.
When we wait we develop humility because we have to acknowledge that God is the One who is in control.
We learn discernment, trust, faith, empathy, and our character begins to look more and more like Jesus.
We don’t want to bypass the development of patience because we would miss a characteristic of God that shows up when we have to wait. …
Patience is a necessity while we journey through life, and it’s constantly being refined, tweaked, stretched and developed.
All of us are in the process of waiting for something. … The wait doesn’t have to be filled with anxiety or hopelessness. … We serve a God who is ever present. He is faithful. He is kind. He is the author of our lives, and the story He is writing is beautiful and full, a life that will reflect Jesus and bring glory to His name.
Our role is to trust His timing, surrender to Him daily, keep our eyes fixed on Him, walk in obedience, and pray without ceasing.—Raema Mauriello2
*
Even when waiting makes us feel like the breath has been knocked out of us, this is also a sacred space. We have the opportunity to give God full authority to breathe life into our weary souls again. Sometimes the very things that knock us off our feet also cause our knees to bend in prayer and our faith to rise.
I have found that there are gifts to be discovered in the waiting. It can be a motivation purifier and vision clarifier, revealing our weaknesses and strengths. Will we grow in faith or find an excuse to quit?
The God-breathed words of Scripture remind us that when we’re forced to wait, we can trust the Lord’s supernatural strength to renew us day by day. Every “light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
And, friends, that’s not a weight that weighs us down. It’s the weight of God’s glory that actually lifts us. His majesty overshadows everything we go through. Our willingness to wait well will produce “eternal weight” that is well worth it all.
God, I surrender my impatience to You today. I surrender my timeline and expectations, trusting that this season of waiting will produce growth in me that will strengthen my resolve. I place my trust in You for all of my days. Waiting with You, I know I will find You faithful. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Jenny Wheeler3
Published on Anchor November 2026. Read by John Laurence. Music by Michael Dooley.
1 “Why is waiting on God so difficult?” gotquestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/waiting-on-God.html.
2 Raema Mauriello, “The Art of Waiting,” realwomenministries.org, https://realwomenministries.org/fruit-of-the-spirit/the-art-of-waiting.
3 Jenny Wheeler, “Worth the Wait,” proverbs31.com, December 8, 2025, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/12/08/worth-the-wait.
Copyright © 2026 The Family International