Is there any purpose in waiting? Here’s at least four reasons why you should embrace waiting when that’s all you can do:

For your personal sanctification: God’s plan A for your life is to make you like Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Usually, the longer you wait, the harder you’ll cling to God and His promises. It may not always feel like this, but in the process of waiting, spiritual transformation is happening in your life.

To reveal your heart’s true motives: God tests you, not to find out how you’ll do (he already knows), but to show you, deep down, what’s really in your heart. Sin and idols in your heart will appear when you wait. Emotions like disappointment may come. But all revealed emotions are paradoxically a mercy from God. Why? Jon Bloom says it best:

“If you find that sin is feeding your emotion of disappointment, then your event of disappointment is a kindness meant to lead you to repentance.”

To increase your faith: If God always gave you what you want when you wanted it, He would not be a good Father. Think about it. Considering our sinful nature, if you never had to wait, you would never have a reason to trust God. We would do our own thing. We would never pray. We would not revere God for his character. If we never waited, our lives would actually be much worse.

But God will often expect you to wait, and He usually does not give you things based on your timing. But as you wait, deeper trust is instilled, and consequently, your faith increases.

To promote gratitude in you:  You waited for the job … and then you finally got it. You were single until age 38 … and then you finally got married. You couldn’t have children for the first 10 years of marriage, and then, behold! A baby boy! Waiting can help increase your gratitude to God.

I can think of several times in my own life when God made me wait for something. During the process, I thought like the Psalmist: “How long, O LORD?” For a few of the occasions, when the wait was over, it was like I forgot how long I had waited. The joy of God’s faithfulness superseded the weariness of waiting.

This has happened to me many times. And this is the testimony of so many others. God will make you wait. He is never late. But He is never early, either – His timing and purposes are always perfect.