The Hardest Part of Waiting | Tuesday

Devotional

Most of us can handle hard things when we know they will end soon. It is the waiting, the not knowing when or if things will change, that slowly wears us down. The Father in Matthew 17 had not been dealing with His son's suffering for a week or a month. It had been years. And that kind of prolonged trial does something to the human heart. It tempts us to lower our expectations of God so that disappointment hurts less. But lowering your expectations of God is not the same as being realistic. It is actually a quiet form of unbelief. Psalm 27:13 captures the posture God is calling us back to: "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Not just in heaven someday. Here. Now. In the middle of the waiting. The duration of your trial does not diminish God's power or His attention toward you. He sees the length of what you have been carrying. And He is not indifferent to it. The same God who healed a boy after years of suffering is the same God who is present in your prolonged season right now. Do not let the length of the wait convince you that God has moved on. He has not.

Bible Verse

"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." - Psalm 27:13

Reflection Question

How has the duration of a difficult season in your life affected the way you pray and the expectations you bring to God?

Quote

"The hardest part of any trial is not the depth of the trial or even the darkness of the trial. The hardest part of any trial is not the depth of the trial. It is the duration of a trial."

Prayer

Father, the waiting has been hard and my hope has grown thin. Remind me today that You are still good and still at work, even when I cannot see it. Help me to believe I will see Your goodness here, not just someday.