3 Things to Keep in Mind While Waiting on God

Even the most devout Christians can feel abandoned when God doesn’t answer their prayers. But God is always working and wants us to have faith in His plan. Here are three things to keep in mind while waiting on God.

When Jesus spent his last few moments on the cross, he asked, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46) There are moments when we feel as though God has abandoned us because we pray and pray, but He hasn’t answered. These moments bring to mind the following verse from the Gospel of Matthew (known as the “Matthew Effect”): “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away” (Matthew 25:29).

The Matthew Effect describes a common experience. Have you ever thought, “I just can’t catch a break”? Maybe your attractive friend became engaged and received a promotion at work (“For to everyone who has, more shall be given”), but you’re single and stuck in a job that you don’t like because you need the money. Even worse, maybe you experience one tragedy after another (“even what he does have shall be taken away”), such as a family member’s passing or receiving a diagnosis for a serious illness.

Even in your darkest hour, it’s important to remember that God hasn’t abandoned you. He only asks that you wait patiently for His plan. Here are three things to keep in mind while waiting on God.

1. God Works on a Different Timeline

Recall that 2 Peter 3:8 tells us, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” We know that our time on earth is insignificant compared to our eternal reward in Heaven.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean we always wait with patience while God works. This is especially true after technology created a culture of instant gratification. If Amazon can deliver our package in a day and Chick-fil-a can prepare our order in minutes, then why can’t God answer our prayers that quickly?

Our sense of impatience becomes worse when we compare ourselves to others on social media. Maybe you just can’t seem to secure a home loan while your friends post pictures of moving into their beautiful new homes. Maybe the person who you thought was “the one” broke up with you instead of proposing, but your friends are updating their status to “in a relationship.”

When you’re waiting on God to help secure the home loan, heal your broken heart, and introduce you to “the one,” know that good things are in store for you. Consider that God didn’t answer your prayers so that you can one day move into your dream home. Consider that God let one relationship end so that a better one can begin. These days, the phrase “everything happens for a reason” is a cliche because people say it so often. But it’s true. If God asks you to wait, it’s because His divine wisdom knows what’s best for you.

2. God Asks That You Have Faith

Waiting on God can raise the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” If we live according to our faith–that is, we go to church every Sunday, act with kindness and compassion, and share the Gospel with others–we can feel even more discouraged when good things happen to bad people.

Through their faith, Christians solve the “problem of evil” (bad things happening to good people). Can we really say that people worship God freely if their faith depends on God giving them everything they want?

The Book of Job answers this question by telling a story of how one man kept his faith in the worst of circumstances. Job was devoted to God, but Satan tried to convince God that Job’s devotion came from his material wealth: Job had money, servants, and many sons and daughters. God put Job to the test, taking away his wealth, servants, and children. After Job refused to curse God, he developed a painful skin condition. Still, he worshipped God.

God triumphed over Satan’s accusation that Job only worshipped because of his blessings. He restored Job’s riches and family, and Job lived for four more generations. The Book of Job teaches us a lesson about waiting on God: “when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). God tests us, too, because he wants us to worship him even while we wait for Him to answer our prayers. There’s nothing more freeing than seeing the evil in the world but still choosing to live according to our faith.

3. God Wants Us to Live a Joyful Life

Since the fall of man, our world has been filled with sin and suffering. God told Adam, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it” (Genesis 3:17).

Because we’re sinners, waiting on God can make us wonder whether we did something wrong and deserve our suffering. But because we’re sinners, we also know that our salvation–and our joy–comes from worshipping the Lord.

God rewards our faith in Him not only with eternal life in Heaven but also in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes we think, “I won’t be happy until X happens.” X could be finishing a stressful project at work or meeting our next fitness goal. Our faith in God teaches us to be happy while we wait because we trust that He’ll eventually answer our prayers.

Romans 15:13 reminds us that happiness comes from our faith in God: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

When you’re waiting on God to answer your prayers, it can be easy to ask, “Why have you abandoned me?” God might not answer your prayers right away, but that doesn’t mean he’s abandoned you. God is working according to his timeline, so trust that His plan for you might not be obvious right away. He will reward you for having faith even in times of trouble. Until God delivers that reward, have joy because God always fulfills His promises.