Something actually happens while it seems nothing is happening.

It is exciting to see a mom give life to a child but whole pregnancy process. I just don’t know. How can anyone keep smiling with all the pregnancy symptoms or some thrown at them: a marathon vomiting session in the early stages of pregnancy, back aches, sleepless nights, leg cramps, frequent heartburn, and much more. While we wait something is happening inside her tummy – a baby is growing. Feeling the baby move inside her tummy give us joy and hope. Then delivery of the baby happens. It will be the most painful thing she had ever experienced in her whole life. Then her breakthrough happens. The baby is born.

A child is conceived. A prayer is prayed. Then comes the season when the child develops in the womb. The Holy Spirit moves things on our behalf. Closer to the time of delivery, the mother becomes uncomfortable physically and can get impatient for her child to be born. When we don’t see things happening in our idea of time, it gets uncomfortable and we too can get impatient waiting for the realization of our prayers. When you are tempted to give up, your breakthrough is probably around the corner. Don’t give up before the miracles.

This process of having a baby is the process of bringing forth life. And where there is life, there is God. The joy and delight that comes when a child is born is something a parent longs to experience.

Read: Genesis 15

But we don’t start out willing to wait. Our natural response to waiting is often anger or doubt. Fortunately, God is gracious and merciful, understanding of our tendencies. Simply feeling deep, complex emotions in waiting — especially for significant things, like longings to see someone or to receive underserving forgiveness from a friend or a son — longings is not necessarily sinful in itself. But we can decide where those emotions take us. We can choose to exalt these feelings. We might act on them by taking matters into our own hands or, by God’s grace, we can want to wait as he intends. “Waiting on the Lord is the opposite of running ahead of the Lord, and it’s the opposite of bailing out on the Lord,” writes John Piper. “It’s staying at your appointed place while he says stay, or it’s going at his appointed pace while he says go. It’s not impetuous, and it’s not despairing.” We have the choice, then, to take a deep breath, release our clenched hands, and let God be God. And we are invited to continue hoping in his greatness.

God is not indifferent to my longings

“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never take the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves”, said Blaise Pascal

God deliberately entices us to seek happiness, joy, pleasure in him with verses like this: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4), and “in your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Why does God want us to want pleasure? Because it is a crucial indicator. Desire is the meter in your heart that measures how valuable, how precious someone or something is to you. Pleasure is the measure of your treasure.

Your treasure is what you love. Your greatest treasure is what you love the most. “For where your treasure is, there your heart [your love] will also be” (Matthew 6:21).

I have found the one whom my soul loves (Songs of Solomon 3:4)

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.” – Proverbs 31:10. In other words, she is extraordinary. There is something in her that you treasure her more than anyone and anything in this world. It can be an extraordinary kindness, love, or great character. She is a strong and honorable woman (Proverbs 31:25). She has a strong conviction and maintains great principles in life will bring honor and glory to her God and your home. She is righteous and praiseworthy (Proverbs 31:28). She is not a woman who always posts “feeling blessed” on her Facebook or Instagram status, but someone whose family and friends are feeling blessed to have her in their lives. How do you know if your girlfriend is one sent by God? She acts with care for your future (Proverbs 19:14).

You glorify your treasure by the fact that it’s the object of your pleasure. And that’s why God is not indifferent about your joy. It’s a big deal to him. He wants to know your desires. He wants to be a part of your pursuit for her. Pursue your pleasure in God, the greatest Treasure that exists, with all your heart (Matthew 22:37).

Don’t settle for the lesser joys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21). Trust in God.

Trust, which means believing at least two things about God: he is powerful, and he is loving.

Believing God is powerful means that we know he is in charge of what’s happening; things are not arbitrary or out of his control. He is capable of both helping us and changing things. Much of our anxiety in waiting is because we forget that “God is able to make all grace abound to you” (2 Corinthians 9:8). You are not at the mercy of your circumstances.

Believing God is loving means that there are care and purpose behind all that he does. It means that he is faithful to help us right now and bring us blessings later. It says that his judgment and timing is always perfectly good. True, he owes us nothing, yet he has promised to give us everything we need (Philippians 4:19).

Even during that long road of silence, God cares deeply for us. We can be like David and remind ourselves, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14). And then fight for the right joy! Hope in God. Don’t give up.

God works in those who wait

Some of the most significant figures in the Bible — David had to wait for many years for God’s promises. Everything that happened in the meantime was used to prepare them, inwardly as well as outwardly. Then, when they reached their hope, they were blessed beyond measure.

God invites us to do the same. Trust in his goodness today and his faithfulness tomorrow. Relinquishing control to him is the main route to experience his love and peace. It unites our hearts with his. It creates a level of maturity and character that we will take with us into the future, and it enables us to enjoy his future blessings all the more.

When sanctification looks like you are losing, remind yourself, from God’s word, that this is all part of a process; namely, the process of transforming you (and me) into the image of Jesus.

Fight for joy! Hope in God! Don’t give up!