When God's Timing Feels like Bad Timing

I am learning a lot about waiting on God and man was I WRONG about some big parts of it. Like, embarrassingly wrong. The kind of wrong where you realize you've been reading the instruction manual upside down for years.

I used to think being in a season of waiting on the Lord was like being the kid who wants his dad to play with him. You know the scene: "Just wait a minute son, dad just has to finish a few things and then we can play." So naturally, I thought waiting on God meant sitting there expectantly, tapping my foot while He wrapped up whatever divine business was keeping Him busy before He could finally get around to my situation.

That is so WRONG it's almost funny. Almost.

Here's what I've discovered:

waiting ON the Lord isn't waiting FOR the Lord. It's waiting WITH the Lord.

Think about that for a second. He's not in some cosmic back office shuffling through paperwork while we sit in the waiting room flipping through outdated magazines. He's right there with us. And here's the kicker: He's actually not going to waste the waiting. While we're sitting there wondering when our breakthrough is coming, He's using every single moment to teach us, shape us, and chip away at all the stuff we don't actually need but think we can't live without.

God is more committed to forming us into who we were always meant to be than He is to making our lives comfortable right now. And honestly? That's both terrifying and amazing.

The prophet Isaiah captured this beautifully when he wrote, "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). Notice it doesn't say "those who wait FOR the Lord." It's "wait ON the Lord" like a waiter serves a table, actively engaged and ready to respond.

But here's another thought that's been messing with my head lately: have you ever considered that maybe we're waiting because the other party or situation isn't ready yet?

Stay with me here. Maybe God has something absolutely incredible lined up for you. Maybe it's a relationship, a job opportunity, a ministry calling, or just a season of life that's going to blow your mind. But rather than settling for giving you something halfway decent right now, He's actually waiting on that other thing to choose to turn to Him. He's waiting for those other people to learn their lesson, grow up a little, or get their act together so they're actually ready for YOU.

Think about it: would you rather have God force a square peg into a round hole just to end your waiting, or would you prefer He coordinate all the moving parts so that when things finally come together, they actually work? When David was hiding in caves from King Saul, God wasn't just killing time. He was preparing David to be the kind of king Israel actually needed, while also dealing with Saul's heart and the nation's readiness for new leadership.

Rather than give you halfway, God is asking you to wait for the best. But since He won't force the other situation (because that's not how real love, real change, or real readiness works) He has to wait for them to be ready too.

This completely changes how I think about those frustrating seasons when it feels like nothing is happening. What if God is orchestrating a symphony and you're just hearing the warm-up? What if He's cooking a seven-course meal and you keep asking why the appetizer isn't ready yet?

Jesus himself said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working" (John 5:17). Always working. Not taking coffee breaks. Not distracted by other priorities. Always working on your behalf, even when (especially when) you can't see what He's doing.

I'm coming to believe and trust what I always knew intellectually but struggled to embrace emotionally: God is sovereign over it all. He's committed to His glory AND my good. And here's the thing about God's glory and our good: they're not competing interests. When God gets the glory He deserves, we get the life we were designed for. It's not a zero-sum game.

The waiting isn't punishment. It's preparation. It's not God being slow; it's God being thorough. And maybe, just maybe, the thing you're waiting for isn't just better because you had to wait for it. It's better because the waiting made YOU better, and it made everyone else involved better too.

So the next time you're tempted to think God has forgotten about you or gotten distracted by bigger problems, remember: He's not just working on your situation. He's working on you. And that might be the most important work of all.

The waiting isn't wasted time. It's invested time. And God never makes bad investments.