If God loves me, why do I have to wait patiently for him to act?

Daniel 10:12-13Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way.”

Daniel prayed expectantly but had to wait because there was spiritual interference. We may not understand why God’s response to our prayers seems delayed, but we can be sure that the Lord will overcome all opposition. He sees the big picture and accomplishes his purposes for us with perfect timing. Remember that from the time we begin to pray, God hears us.

Romans 5:3-5We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

This world is God’s waiting room. While we wait, we learn better how to live and trust. We gain composure, strength, humility, and a deepening appreciation for God’s care in our lives.

2 Peter 1:5-9Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Peter had experience with the process of spiritual growth that God uses with us. Brash and impulsive, Peter had a lot to learn about patience. He saw the value in making every effort based on God’s promises to supply what we need. His key term is “supplement” in the sense of “adding to” or “expanding by.” When we are thinking about patience, it begins to have a serious effect after faith, moral excellence, and knowledge have made an impact on us.