Waiting Well Brings Peace
Joshua 21:45 — “Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.”
I stared at the screen, disbelief written across my face. “Delayed.” The word just sat there like a lump of coal in my inbox. I sank into the couch and groaned because my package would not arrive before Christmas morning.
Then I laughed at myself, shaking my head. Was I really this spoiled?
My mind wandered back to those Sears Christmas catalogs we had when I was a kid. I remember flipping through each page full of toys and trinkets, marking my favorites with a pencil before mailing it off, knowing it would take weeks to arrive.
Somehow, waiting made the gift feel more magical. Why was I letting impatience steal my Christmas spirit now?
I sat there, letting the question rest, the way snow settles on a porch railing. The truth was I had grown used to fast things, easy things, and things that showed up on my doorstep the next day.
But life does not work like two-day shipping. No—life is built on seasons that stretch us thin before they make us whole.
As I stared at the frustrating little notification, a verse I’d read earlier in the week rose to the surface: “Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given… was left unfulfilled.” (Joshua 21:45)
Not one.
Not ever.
Not then—not now.
My package might move at a snail’s pace, but the promises of God never do. They may feel slow from my point of view, but Scripture tells me they are always right on time.
I leaned back and let that truth soften the sharp edges of my irritation.
Maybe the delay wasn’t a disaster.
Maybe it was an invitation—to breathe, to loosen my grip on expectations, to trust the God who has never failed to keep His word.
And suddenly the delay stopped feeling like an interruption and started feeling like a blessing. If I could learn to wait for something as simple as a Christmas delivery, maybe I could learn to wait for the bigger things too.
Because hope grows in the space where impatience used to live.
So maybe the real question of this season isn’t How long will I have to wait?
Maybe it’s What might God be forming, teaching, or revealing in the waiting?
Perhaps today, you might pause too—notice the small moments around you, trust the promises you cannot yet see, and let patience turn your waiting into its own kind of gift.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Where in your life are you feeling impatient right now?
- Which promise of God do you need to remind yourself is still true—even if you haven’t seen it yet?
- How has God proven His faithfulness to you in past seasons of waiting?
- What small practices could help you slow down and notice God’s presence in your waiting?
- How might your perspective shift if you saw delays not as obstacles, but as invitations to trust?
