Endurance with Hope: Waiting on God’s Timing – Developing patience and trust during delays and silence

Waiting is hard. 

Especially when you’ve been praying, believing, fasting, doing “all the right things,” and yet… nothing seems to be happening. You’re still in the same place, with the same questions, and silence from Heaven. 

But what if this season of waiting isn’t punishment—what if it’s preparation?

Let’s talk about endurance with hope—that ability to hang on, not just with gritted teeth, but with expectant trust that God is still working, even when you can’t see it.

Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (NIV). 

That word “patiently” can feel like a challenge when the waiting season stretches longer than expected. Yet biblical hope isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s a confident expectation that what God promised, He will fulfill.

Think about Joseph. He had a dream from God as a teenager that he would rise to influence and leadership. 

But before that dream came to pass, he was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. That wasn’t a weekend delay—it was 13 years. 

Thirteen years of uncertainty and silence. But God was not inactive in Joseph’s waiting. 

Genesis 39:2 says, “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” (NIV)

Even in what looked like delay, God was shaping Joseph’s character, positioning him, and preparing him for the responsibility of ruling. When the time was right, not a moment sooner or later, Joseph was brought before Pharaoh—and in a single day, everything changed. 

This remains of Monday when I was at a particular location, doing nothing really but talking to my middle child. I wanted to go do something for a while but I sat with her until I got that nudge, that pat on the back, that whisper, get up and go now Angela. And even before I reached my destination, I ran into someone who promised to look into an application I made 7 years ago! God is moving!

Isn’t that how life is? You feel like nothing is happening for years, and then suddenly—God moves. Suddenly, you’re promoted, healed, married, walking in your calling. 

The “suddenly” moments of God are often built on long, invisible seasons of endurance.

Let me bring this closer to home. Maybe you’ve been praying for a spouse, and all your friends are getting married while you’re still attending weddings alone. Or you’ve applied for job after job, but the door just won’t open. Or maybe you're waiting on healing, and the doctor’s reports haven’t changed.

It’s easy to let frustration creep in. Doubt whispers, “Maybe God forgot about me.” 

But Isaiah 40:31  (NKJV) reminds us, “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.”

Waiting doesn’t mean weakness. Waiting well actually makes you stronger. It deepens your roots and develops your spiritual muscle.

Look at Abraham and Sarah. God promised them a child, but they waited 25 years for Isaac. At one point, they tried to help God by making their own plan—resulting in Ishmael, which brought unnecessary complication. 

But look at it: God still kept His promise, but their story shows us how costly it can be to try to force timing instead of trusting God’s.

In Romans 4:20-21 (NIV), we’re told of Abraham: “He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” 

Can I challenge us today? What if the silence isn’t a sign of God’s absence—but a test of your endurance and trust?

The story is told of a woman who prayed for a child for years. The doctors said it wouldn’t happen. She did everything: IVF, prayers, waiting—but still nothing. 

At one point, she surrendered her desire to God completely. She said, “Lord, if You do it, You’re good. If You don’t, You’re still good.” 

Not long after that, she conceived naturally, without any medical help. 

God was writing a story that would bring Him glory.

Waiting God’s way often involves surrender. 

Psalm 37:7 (NIV) says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” 

We don’t just wait—we wait patiently. That means we’re not scrolling social media comparing timelines. We’re not giving God ultimatums. We’re choosing to trust Him in the dark.

Jesus Himself modeled this. When Lazarus was sick, Mary and Martha sent word urgently. 

But John 11:6 (NKJV) says, “So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.”  

Jesus “delayed” on purpose. Why? Because He wasn’t coming to heal—He was coming to resurrect. Hallelujah.

Sometimes, God’s delay means He’s setting the stage for a greater miracle.

Can I  encourage somebody today: Don't waste the waiting. Let God shape you. Let Him teach you. Let hope rise up in you—not the kind of hope that just wants the answer, but the kind that rests in the Answer Himself.

Psalm 130:5 (NIV) says, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” 

Today, choose to anchor your hope in God’s Word, not your feelings or your clock. If He gave you a promise, He will perform it. He’s not forgotten you. He’s preparing something better than you could ask or imagine.

So keep showing up. Keep praying. Keep praising. Keep hoping. 

Endure—with hope. Because in God’s perfect timing, it will all make sense. 

aub - 7May25 

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