It can be easy to think we are forgotten when what we think should be happening isn’t.

We get promises from God, we are excited and expectant, then time passes and those hopeful and excited feelings start to fade.

We wait month after month and finally come to the conclusion that this is as good as it’s going to get.

Discouragement and disillusionment set in.

We start to forget those things our greatest love whispered to our heart so long ago.

Waiting.

We wait and we wait only to see more of nothing. Then we somehow start believing the circumstances in our life are more real than God’s promises.

It’s easy to do in the wake of so much let down. Surely, it should have happened by now – I must have heard God wrong, I must have messed up, I must be failing, that must not be true.

This is where faith grows stronger friends. This is how we get stronger as human beings. Believing God’s promises are yes and amen no mater what. Because they are yes and amen no matter what. If God said it, he will do it. End of story.

Here is when we get to make the choice to believe instead of making the choice to doubt and fall into despondency.

I realized recently that those things I was doubting about, I was ultimately putting a timetable on God to complete.

One of the promises I am waiting for is getting married. He said I’m going to be married – a promise I’m sure a lot of us can relate to. As with most other promises, I thought that surely meant in the next 3 years.

3 years have passed and I am still single.

What happened? Did I hear God wrong?

Questions like, “Do I matter?”, “Was I passed over?”, “Am I cared about?” pass through our heads.

Friends, God is so good. He doesn’t just tell us to wait for nothing. He doesn’t just allow hard, character building circumstances in our lives for nothing.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

I recently heard a quote about waiting – in those long waiting seasons God is preparing you to bear so much fruit in the next season.

Let’s think about seasons for a moment. Spring, everything grows and is vibrant, then summer comes and the heat bakes the land. Fall arrives and everything starts dying, then winter where the plants and the land go into hibernation while the cold temperatures set in.

Plants can look very dead in the winter. After enough time passes, you start to wonder if those flowers will ever bloom again, but bloom they do in their proper time.

It’s so easy to doubt or forget that God’s timing is perfect, absolutely, completely perfect. Not one detail is forgotten or overlooked. Who can fathom every moving part, every detail of our lives that need pruning or growth? Who else could work every single thing together at the exact right time? I sure can’t.

God tells me “soon” and I’m like, “Does that mean tomorrow?!” Probably not little one who rightly needs to learn more patience. You need A LOT more growing before you’re ready for that.

Don’t mistake the need for growth as a death sentence for your dreams.

Christine Caine talks about how our character needs to be strong to be able to withstand the weight of our calling and anointing. She mentions, “Your talent will get you in the room, but your character will keep you in the room.”

God is a good father – he’s not going to thrust you into your calling too soon. He loves you too much. He actually wants you to succeed.

Friends, we have to trust him. The moment we stop trusting him or think that things aren’t progressing as they should, we take matters into our own hands and make a mess of something that was intended to be so beautiful.

Trust the process, trust our all-amazing, all-beautiful, totally good God and that he truly is good and loves you unconditionally. He loves you more purely than you could ever imagine. Don’t give in to this world’s mentality of instant-gratification. Every good thing usually takes time and is worth waiting for.

I am not going to compromise the promises God gave me by taking matters into my own hands because I think he is taking too long. No, I am going to wait for his best, because it is worth waiting for. Like my promise about marriage – he said it would be “marked by commitment and love” and I know he meant it.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” Psalm 27:14 (ESV)

If you find yourself in a waiting season waiting on promises that seem like they aren’t ever going to happen, know that you are seen and heard by God. You are precious and valuable. Your dreams matter to God. Your heart matters to God. He knows how to take the very best care of your heart.

So, keep those promises that God spoke to you, remember them in your heart and know God is saving them for the absolute perfect timing for you. Trust God and trust the process – he won’t ever let you down.