The Lord says, “I made myself known to people who were not looking for me. I was found by those who were not asking me for help.

I said, ‘Here I am. Here I am,’ to a nation that was not praying to me.

 Isaiah 65:1 (NCV)

Waiting is hard. Whether sitting in traffic, standing in long lines, trying to get anything done at the DMV, or waiting for a pandemic to end so we can be social again, we aren’t good waiters. Even though there are things we could do while we wait, we mostly just get annoyed and frustrated. But the hardest kind of waiting is waiting on God. We pray, we lift up our loved ones, asking God to speak into their lives, to knock down the walls and all the lies the world has built around their hearts. We plead with Him to get ahold of the hearts of family and friends. And then we wait…and wait some more. 

The good news is that God is in the search and rescue business. He absolutely hears our prayers, and He shows up in amazing ways all the time. They just aren’t always in the ways we’d like or in our perfect timing, but in His. He reaches the hearts of those who aren’t even the least bit curious about Him. He finds those who don’t even know they’re lost. And He makes Himself known when people are looking for something or someone entirely different. 

While we are waiting there is much to be done. Our job is to plant the seeds of hope and to keep them watered. Our job is to love unconditionally and to keep praying. We won’t change God’s heart, His plans, or His timeline, but He will change us. He gives us hope as we wait. He will strengthen us and remind us that His work, therefore OUR work, is never done. 

If you have been discouraged waiting for loved ones to come to know Jesus, take heart. He promises to give us our hearts’ desires as long as they are in line with His (Psalm 37:4). He will show up in ways you could never imagine and reach the ones He chooses in His timing. Just keep shining God’s light into the lives of those around you! Keep praying, keep loving, keep inviting, and just keep showing up. They are worth it! You are loved!

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