Honestly, for most people there is nothing worse than waiting. We are some of the most impatient people who have ever lived on the Earth. We switch lines at Walmart because we are tired of waiting and want to try a faster line. We get upset when our package delivery is delayed from one day to two. We get super frustrated as we are stuck in a traffic jam on our way to vacation. Our lives are full of anxiety and worry as we wait for test results, job results, or that person to respond to our text.
No matter what the situation, we are not good at waiting.
And this includes our relationship with God. We get frustrated waiting on answered prayers, fulfillment of promises, and God’s intervention.
Abraham and Sarah were given a promise that felt impossible from the start. God told them they would become the parents of a great nation—but years passed, then decades. Their bodies aged. Their hope wavered. And the promise remained unfulfilled.
Waiting is one of the hardest places to live.
It’s hard to keep believing when nothing seems to be changing. It’s hard to trust God’s timing when His silence feels louder than His voice. Sarah knew this struggle well. She laughed when she first heard she would bear a child—not because she didn’t believe God could, but because she couldn’t imagine when.
Yet Scripture tells us something beautiful: God never forgot His promise—not for a moment. The delay was not denial. The waiting was not punishment. It was preparation.
“The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.” Genesis 21:1-2
“And Sarah declared, ‘God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!’” Genesis 21: 6-7
When Isaac was finally born, it wasn’t just a fulfillment of a promise—it was a testimony to God’s perfect timing. Had Isaac come earlier, the miracle might have been questioned. But coming when hope seemed lost left no doubt: this was God’s doing.
Often, God waits until we are fully aware that the outcome depends on Him alone.
If you are in a season of waiting—waiting for healing, restoration, direction, provision, or a promise you thought would have arrived by now—take heart. God is not slow. He is intentional. What He has promised, He will bring to pass at the right time, in the right way, for His glory and your good.
Your waiting is not wasted. God is working even when you cannot see it.
This devotional is written by Amy Carrico.
Last Updated on January 26, 2026
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