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When will I get my turn to hang a white dress in my closet?" I mumbled as I hung up my fourth bridesmaid dress last summer. A single 29-year-old, I'd watched friend after friend join the ranks of "Mrs."; I couldn't help but wonder, How much longer, God?

As I contemplated my life's many delays, I realized I don't like waiting—and I'm not very good at it. But I wanted to grow during my waiting seasons rather than become bitter or lose faith. So I asked God to show me how he's working through these divine delays.

Reminders of Redemption

Sometimes, a wait seems to have no apparent reason. The delay is simply the product of a sin-ravaged world.

My friend Tiffanie, after finishing grad school, spent months searching for a job. As leads failed to pan out into paychecks, she became discouraged.

Yet, much to my admiration, Tiffanie refused to anesthetize the waiting ache. For three months, she fasted from TV because she believed God had "given me the time (whether I asked for it or not) to reflect on what I have and where I'm headed."

Throughout those agonizing months, God showed up in ways more profound than a job offer. She was looking for a way to support herself; God taught her a new level of dependence on him. She was desperately waiting for a potential employer's phone call; instead, God spoke into her soul's quiet places. She was searching for a genie-god to provide instantly for her needs; God blew her away by revealing he's much better and bigger than she'd ever dreamed. 

Eventually, Tiffanie landed a job, and she was grateful for the answered prayer. But she was even more grateful to learn God meets us through the waiting journey in ways beyond those originally asked or imagined. And he lovingly reminds us he can redeem any situation.

The Timing of Trust

Strangely, it's in the bleakest waiting moments that God's intervention manifests itself most clearly. Sometimes, those miracles are glamorous. We receive the perfect job, the physical healing, the necessary funds—and the wait is over.

But other times, God does the miracle in us.

Not long ago, as I was sitting down to dinner with my parents, they received a phone call from a hospital: "Your son's been in an accident. … Can't give details. … Come as soon as you can. … " In a trance, I stumbled to the car with my parents and sister. Those two hours on the way to the hospital were the longest of my life. I wish my immediate reaction had been peace, communion with God, or some other super-spiritual phenomenon. But the feeling in my gut was more like numbness and nausea. My mind churned with questions: Is he going to survive? Will he walk again? Waiting for details unknown and out of my control was terrifying.

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Thank you so very, very much for this article! It truly came right on time. I am a 32 year old woman and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about my singlehood and my deep desire to be married. I too see my friends getting married and having children and wonder "When God, when?". Sometimes I've even asked God to help me to not want to be married, just so I won't have to deal with the pain and disappointment of not being married. But I have this desire for a reason, so all I need to do is wait. Thank you for sharing with me and countless others the need to wait on God, and stay focused on Him and His promises. I too am striving to "wait well".

Thank you so much for writing this! Right now, I'm finding myself waiting for a number of things, and sometimes I get discouraged when I see people around me getting the things they want in an instant. Be that as it may, I am constantly encouraged by Psalm 37:7 which reads, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." Its refreshing to know that while I wait, God is working in a mighty way in my spirit and that I'm learning how to lean on Him even when things don't work according to my agenda. To God be the Glory! Be Blessed!

I am extremely touched by this article. I am 35 and have been waiting for 9 long years to be married. I am sure God has a way out for me and the very best planned for me and therefore the wait. I have grown quite disappointed off late but this article has changed my thinking. I even got the idea that probably marriage was not meant for me. But surely this article reminds me that He is contol and nothing happens without his knowledge.

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