God’s Timing, Not Yours
Trusting His Plan When Waiting Feels Hard
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
Imagine standing at a quiet train station, ticket in hand, waiting for something that should have arrived by now. You glance down the tracks again and again, but nothing comes. Others seem to have boarded their trains, smiling as they move ahead. At first, you wait patiently, but as time passes, your confidence wavers. Maybe the train forgot you. Maybe you misread the schedule.
Life can often feel that way. We wait for prayers to be answered, for doors to open, for healing to come, or for clarity about what’s next. But nothing seems to move. Waiting stretches the heart in ways that few other seasons can. We start to wonder whether God has forgotten us or whether His promises apply only to others. Yet the truth remains: God’s timing is never off. His plan unfolds with precision, even when we can’t see it.
If you’ve ever found yourself in that quiet in-between where faith and frustration seem to meet, this is where God often does His deepest work. Waiting isn’t just a pause; it’s an invitation to grow, to trust, and to surrender.
Seeing Time from God’s Perspective
God’s view of time is different from ours. We measure moments by clocks and calendars, but He measures them by eternity. What feels like a delay to us may actually be perfect timing in His greater plan.
In 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV), Peter reminds believers, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” He wrote this to Christians who were losing hope, wondering why God hadn’t yet fulfilled His promises. But God’s timing wasn’t slow; it was merciful. He was giving people space to turn to Him before completing His redemptive work.
The same may be true in your life. What you see as a delay could be preparation. God may be aligning circumstances, maturing your heart, or protecting you from something you’re not yet ready to face. His timing doesn’t hold you back; it prepares you to move forward with strength and grace.
Learning to Wait Well
Waiting well doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means remaining faithful while you wait. It means praying when you don’t feel like it, serving when no one sees, and choosing gratitude when you’d rather complain. The waiting season becomes sacred when we treat it as an opportunity to draw nearer to God rather than as wasted time.
King David knew what it meant to wait. Anointed to be king as a young man, he spent years hiding from Saul before sitting on the throne. Those were hard years filled with danger and loneliness, yet his faith deepened through them. He wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1, NIV).
David’s waiting was not wasted. God used it to shape him into the kind of leader Israel needed. In the same way, your waiting is shaping you. Every prayer whispered in faith, every small act of obedience, and every moment you choose hope over despair becomes part of God’s refining process.
Trusting the Promise, Not the Pace
We love God’s promises, but His pace can be hard to accept. We want quick answers, instant breakthroughs, and visible results. Yet every promise carries a process. Joseph waited years before his dreams came true. Abraham and Sarah waited decades for Isaac. Even Jesus spent thirty quiet years before His ministry began.
God told the prophet Habakkuk, “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3, NASB). Habakkuk cried out for justice and wondered why God wasn’t acting. God’s reply was both comforting and challenging. The promise would come, but at the right time.
When we focus on God’s character rather than our calendar, we find rest. We no longer need to force outcomes or rush answers because we trust the One who holds them. His timing might move slower than ours, but it never misses its mark.
Growing Through the Waiting
Maybe your waiting isn’t punishment but preparation. God could be teaching you to rely more fully on Him, to deepen your prayer life, or to find joy in His presence rather than in a particular outcome.
Ask yourself, What might God be shaping in me while I wait?
If you allow this time to refine rather than frustrate you, you’ll discover a peace that only comes through surrender. Waiting reveals whether we trust God’s hands or just His gifts. And when we finally see what He was doing all along, we realize the wait was never wasted—it was the work of grace.
A Gentle Next Step
If you’re in a waiting season right now, take a straightforward step today: surrender your timeline. Pray, “Lord, I trust Your timing more than my own.” Begin each morning this week by thanking Him for what He’s doing behind the scenes. You may not see movement yet, but faith grows strongest in the unseen.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, teach me to trust You in the waiting. Help me find peace in Your timing and joy in Your presence. When I can’t see the way ahead, remind me that You are already there. Amen.
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Interactive Exercise: “Wait on the Word” — A Quick Faith Puzzle
Instructions:
Fill in the blanks below using the correct word that completes each Bible verse or truth about waiting on God. Try not to look them up right away — test your memory and heart knowledge first! (Answers follow below.)
“But those who wait on the ________ shall renew their strength.”
“For the vision is yet for the ________ time.”
“I waited ________ for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.”
God’s timing is not a ________, but preparation for His promise.
Faith grows when we trust God’s ________ more than our own.
Take a moment to reflect on which statement stood out most to you and why. What might God be teaching you through this exercise?
Answer Key:
Lord (Isaiah 40:31)
Appointed (Habakkuk 2:3)
Patiently (Psalm 40:1)
Delay
Timing
Bonus Challenge (Optional):
Choose one of these verses to memorize this week. Each time you feel impatient, speak it aloud and let it reshape your thoughts.
Waiting on God: Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow
Sometimes the hardest part of faith isn’t believing in God’s power—it’s trusting His timing. In Waiting on God: Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow, Dr. Charles F. Stanley walks readers through the beauty and challenge of life’s waiting seasons. With wisdom drawn from decades of pastoral experience, he reminds us that delays are not denials; they are divine invitations to grow stronger in faith, patience, and surrender.
Stanley shares biblical examples of men and women who learned to wait well—like Abraham, Joseph, and David—and helps us see that our waiting is not wasted when we anchor our hope in God’s promises. The message echoes the heart of our recent EXCEL2FAITH article, “God’s Timing, Not Yours,” where we explored how God uses waiting to prepare us for greater purpose. Stanley expands this truth by showing how trust and obedience open the door to renewal, peace, and lasting joy.
If your soul feels restless or weary in the wait, this book will remind you that God is always on time—never late, never absent, and never indifferent.
Order your copy of Waiting on God: Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow today, and subscribe to the EXCEL2FAITH Newsletter for more inspiration to strengthen your walk with Christ.
Heavenly Father, teach me to trust Your timing even when I cannot see the path ahead. Help me to rest in Your promises, believing that every delay holds purpose and every silence carries Your love. Strengthen my faith to wait with hope, to listen for Your voice, and to grow in patience and peace. Draw me closer to You each day, Lord, until my heart beats in rhythm with Yours.