In this video, Rev. Eric Bancroft encourages believers waiting on God to trust that He is working, even when His hand isn’t yet visible.
I want to say to a Christian who feels like because of a season they’re in, they have been praying and they feel like God’s not listening; they’ve been waiting and it feels like it’s been going on forever: They need to be clear to understand, to not differentiate between God’s silence and God’s absence. They’re not the same, though easily confused. God is working oftentimes in a way that we don’t often see, but He is working.
And to speak candidly, it’s at times mysterious because even at times when we see His hand, it seems confusing to us, as to His purposes. Take the book of Esther, for example. God by name is not mentioned once in the book of Esther yet God’s handprint is all over Esther, “For such a time as this.”
We’re often waiting for a specific time, but the reality is that God has an appointed time. But the surprise is it often is happening while it’s the meantime. We’re just waiting. We often don’t see that until after it’s done.
I’m encouraged by Isaiah 49:15 where the prophet seeks to encourage God’s people says, “Like a nursing mother could never forget her child, so could I never forget you.” What’s so comforting to know is that even though it might seem like heaven is silent, that God has turned His back or has directed His attention elsewhere, nothing could be further from the truth. He is, as His servant Paul says, “Working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
So, don’t lose heart. Be encouraged. Work from the Word, from what it says outward so that you keep training your mind to know that even though you’re waiting in times and seasons of tears and pain, God hears you. And those prayers and those tears are not in vain. He is working for your good. And I trust in time they’ll become more clear to you as it has for so many Christians before you.