However Long It Takes: How to keep believing God when going through your waiting season
This devotion is written by Dianna Hobbs, founder of EEW Magazine. Get more inspiration like this on her Daily Cup of Inspiration blog.
My husband Kenya and I are amazed every time we hear our 16-year-old son Kedar play the piano. He has gotten so good, so fast. He first started tinkering with the keys at the beginning of this year at City Church Buffalo— the church my husband and I lead. We are both tickled to hear Kedar tickling the ivory and filling the atmosphere with melodious music.
Not only is our teen playing the piano, but he recently got his learner’s permit and is learning to drive too. On his first day behind the wheel, Kedar was so excited. You should have seen him beaming and grinning from ear to ear. And once he hit the road, he did a great job. He did so well in fact, I teasingly asked, “Are you sure you’ve never driven before?”
While I often tell Kedar how proud I am of him, I also try to keep him balanced by telling him that everything in life won’t come as easily or quickly. There will be challenges, and some things will take a long time to manifest—even things God promised to do. This is something Paul teaches in Hebrews 6, where he encourages Christians to put our hope in God. He teaches us to be assured of the certainty of the Lord’s promises even if it takes a long time to see the word fulfilled.
In Genesis 15, God told Abraham, the great patriarch of faith, his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. At the time, Abraham didn’t have any children, and it took 25 years before the promised child Isaac was born. By then, Abraham was 100 years old.
Your waiting period may not be 25 years, but however long it takes to see God fulfill His word, stay focused on the Lord’s faithfulness.
Paul says in Hebrews 6:18, “it is impossible for God to lie.” Therefore, if God said it, as I always tell you, it has to happen. When things are moving slowly in your life, tell yourself: However long it takes, I will trust God; however long it takes, I will believe; however long it takes, I will confess God’s promises; however long it takes, I refuse to give up.
Stay in faith. That deliverance will come. Healing will manifest. Favor will flow. Opportunities will open up. Resources will show up. God personally guarantees that His word never fails.
“There is a breakthrough that has been a long time coming, with your name on it. God is releasing something awesome, because you believed Him in the wait! ”
I recently received a message from a young lady who is hurting, confused, and upset. She wrote, “Dianna, I ask God over and over again, ‘When will my time come?’ I feel like it will never be my turn to be blessed. I don’t know how to keep waiting. I have been believing God for change, and I just don’t see anything happening. All the waiting is beginning to make my faith waver.”
I know that she is not the only one feeling this way. Her words remind me of the prophet Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1:2. He asked, “How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?”
This man of God was tired. He acted as God’s mouthpiece to Judah while they were in Babylonian captivity, and even he felt like God was taking too much time to answer. But God responded in Habakkuk 2:2-3, and He told Habakkuk, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie.”
Even though none of us knows the mind of God, and we cannot determine the “appointed time,” we can be sure we have one. There is a set time for change. In the meantime, as I said earlier, focus on God’s faithfulness and the reliability of His word. When you place your hope in His word, you will remain steadfast in uncertain times.
To remind you of this truth, I’m stirring Hebrews 6:19 NIV into your cup of inspiration, which says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, don’t let your emotions control your faith. Let your faith control your emotions. What you believe must dictate your actions, and that is how you remain stable, however long it takes.
