Change Can Happen Quicker Than You Think

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. - Lamentations 3:25

I was on the phone with one of my friends a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about dating, which is usually one of my favorite things to talk about. But this particular conversation was a little heavier in nature. You see, my friend was on the verge of ending a relationship she’d been in for several months and was pretty disappointed that things hadn’t worked out the way she expected.

She and her boyfriend had talked about a future together. They had gotten pretty serious. There was hope that this could be the one that stuck. But now, all of those hopes and dreams of the future were no longer in sight. Instead, a very foggy, murky path was ahead of her, one where she had no idea what was to come.

Toward the end of our phone call, she talked to me about how she knew trusting God’s timing was the best thing she could be doing, but she also told me how hard it is to wait for something you want so badly when you see other people getting the thing that you want.

She said, “Kristen, if you had asked me when I was 18 or 19 what I thought my life would look like right now, I would have said I would be on the verge of getting married, settling down, and starting a family. But I’m no where close to that. I know God has a plan, and I know He’s trustworthy and worth waiting on, but when I see other people like my brother or my cousins or you getting the thing I’m waiting for, it makes it difficult to stay hopeful.”

I smiled empathetically on my end of the phone, because I knew exactly how she felt. I’d been in her shoes more than once. I’d been the only one at the family dinner table without a significant other sitting next to me. I’d been the one standing next the bride, wishing I was the one wearing white. I’d been the one scrolling through Instagram and seeing picture after picture of happy couples while I sat with my two dates, Ben and Jerry, on the couch with a Hallmark movie in the background.

I knew exactly what she was going through. And I told her that. But as I did, I reminded her of something very important.

I said, “I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve asked the same questions and struggled with the same doubt. But if it helps, I was asking those questions and wrestling with those thoughts just 8 months ago. Things can change quicker than you think.”

She waited a few seconds, clearly processing what I had just said, and then responded, “Oh yeah…I guess you’re right. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

Honestly, I hadn’t either until I was having this conversation with her. It was like the Holy Spirit was giving me the reminder as I was passing it on to her.

Change can happen quicker than we think.

God can intervene out of nowhere. He can switch things up in the blink of an eye. We never know what all He’s doing behind the scenes or when He’s going to spring the next part of His plan into action.

That’s why we can’t stop waiting. We can’t stop trusting. And we can’t stop hoping.

There were plenty of times over the years I just wanted to throw in the towel and tell myself I was giving up waiting on a husband and I’d just learn to be fine by myself. There were countless times when I got my hopes up and then was left feeling disappointed when my hopes didn’t work out. And when that happened, I really didn’t want to repeat those disappointing seasons.

But now, as I’m sitting in my fiancé’s office looking at him across the room, me writing this devotion and him writing his sermon for youth group tonight, I’m so grateful I kept waiting. I’m so thankful I kept hoping and kept believing that God had a plan and that His timing was worth trusting. Sure, my life didn’t turn out at all like I thought it would. And there were a million other times I wish God had changed my circumstances on my schedule. But now, I can confidently say I’m grateful that He did things His way instead of mine.

So friend, whatever it is you’re waiting on, my prayer is that you’ll keep waiting and hoping, too. Don’t give up on God. Don’t doubt His goodness or His timing. Don’t give into the temptation to stop believing He’s got something planned for you. Just hang in there. From someone who was in your shoes just 8 months ago, remember, change can happen quicker than you think.