Trusting God's Timing

Why is waiting so hard, especially when we believe we’re doing everything right?

In today’s episode, Richelle Alessi opens up about the struggles and lessons found in trusting God’s timing, drawing encouragement from the story of Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Together, we’ll reflect on what it means to wait faithfully, deepen our faith in seasons of uncertainty, and embrace the journey of becoming more patient and trusting children of God.

Join our community in prayer and devotion as we seek comfort, perspective, and renewed hope while waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing.

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Transcript

Speaker: 0:00

You're listening to My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1479. Today's devotional is called Trusting God's Timing. Hey there, we're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a 5-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Good morning everybody and happy Thursday! I hope that you guys are having an incredible week so far, and I hope that these devos this week have helped you a little bit with some of the things that we might struggle, or maybe if you've never struggled with this, God bless. I promise you, you're not missing out. But if you've had some of those same struggles that I've mentioned the last couple of weeks and you can relate, I hope that this has helped you just not feel so alone and not so crazy, but validated in how we can grow together and how we don't let these things keep us from fulfilling God's calling and God's plan for our lives. And that is my goal, that you do not feel alone. And I know with all the other hosts and what they're going to be speaking about this month is going to truly bless you. And today I want to talk about trusting God's timing. And to be completely honest with you guys, this is something that I'm going through right now, currently, right at this moment as you're listening to it. It is something that I'm going through right now, and some of the other things that I've talked about, things I've had to overcome and I'm still, of course, working through. But this one was like, I need to talk about it because it's a current struggle, and it is trusting God's timing with things. And, um, I came across this verse and it spoke to me so much. And it just, it reminded me God's ability to just still move and speak even in the moments where I feel the most confused and not so clear in what's next. And it's a verse found in John 11:6, and it says, so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed 2 days longer in the place where he was. And this is actually talking about Jesus. Jesus was out ministering, and if you guys know Lazarus and Mary and Martha, those whole story, they were siblings, and Jesus was super close to them. Jesus loved them. And Lazarus had gotten sick, and we know the whole story about what Jesus did for Lazarus. But the cool thing about this verse and what it spoke to me about was that Jesus had heard that Lazarus was ill, and he stayed 2 days longer ministering in the place that he was at. He didn't hear this and immediately say, we have to leave, I have to go save Lazarus. And when we continue to read the story, you actually even hear the sisters saying, Jesus, you knew this, why didn't you come sooner? And people could not understand, and people were crying. I mean, Jesus showed up when he was being buried. Like, Lazarus had died. He didn't show up when he was like almost dying. No, no, he was gone. People were crying. It was a funeral, and that's when Jesus shows up. And as I'm reading this, I'm realizing that God always has his timing., and it never makes sense to the human ear and mind. Never. Guys, I can read the story over and over, and we know why God did what he did now, and we understand it. But I can't imagine being Mary and Martha, who love and trust Jesus with all of our hearts and everything, and we know that if we just tell him, he's gonna come through exactly what we think he's going to. And the message gets to him, and Jesus still waits 2 days to show up. And I realized in my current life, that's exactly how I feel. There is things that I've asked of the Lord and things that I am desiring, and I'm asking him, and I've done everything that I can to take that step of faith. I've sowed, I've taken action, and yet I still feel like the Lord hasn't delivered. And I had my sacred timeline of why I wanted things. When I was desiring this specific thing to happen at this time because I just thought it was the perfect way that it was going to work out and it was a desire of my heart, so the Lord was going to come through and it still hasn't happened. And I'm sitting like, I actually don't even feel like there's progress towards it. I feel like the Lord has heard it and he's somewhere in town and it's not coming for another 2 days. And I'm like, but Jesus, don't you see what's gonna happen? Don't you, don't you see what I'm feeling? But we know that the story works with Jesus coming and performing probably one of his biggest miracles ever, aside from his resurrection, where he speaks to Lazarus and he raises from the dead. And the people around him and what happens to the town and what happens to Jesus' ministry from there on, you realize that Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. And it was not because he was heartless. It was not because he was too busy with other people and couldn't get to me. It doesn't mean that Jesus is too busy with other people's prayers and he hasn't heard mine, or he thinks, you know what, she can wait a little longer. God has a perfect timing. That we cannot comprehend until things are over. And what I realized was that in these moments, I just get to experience the Lord in a new level, but it deepens my faith because seasons of waiting is what truly develops trust. And I can't walk around saying I trust the Lord with my life, but I haven't waited or had to wait on him for something. For him to deliver. And I'm realizing, as I'm even saying this right now, I've had to wait on the Lord many times in my life, and it never gets easier, but it also builds my faith to say there is more. Like, I remember when I had to wait for certain things, and now I'm here saying, I can't believe the Lord has delivered the way he has. If he would have done it a day sooner, it would have not been the same story. It would have not built the Richelle that is here today. And even right now, I'm realizing I have to trust the Lord. And in this new season of life, in this new level of trusting him, I have to develop that trust. Because if I'm gonna sit here and even say to you, hey, trust God, he comes through, I have to experience that. And it's gonna be a new level every time. And now I'm just saying, you know what, it's hard because it's not clear. I do feel like the Lord might be in town and he's not coming for another 2 days, and I'm like, but Lord, I need you right now. But what I do know is that when God comes, he shows up, shows off, and this is perfect timing. And as a child, I told Chris this, um, Marino doesn't understand waiting. When I say, Marino, we're gonna make cookies, he thinks the cookies are ready. Well, I have to take out the packaging, I have to put the cookies on the tray, I have to bake the cookies, and the entire time he's mad at me. He's complaining, "I want cookies," and I'm like, "Don't you see I'm preparing them for you?" And he's seeing me prepare this and he's still not getting it. And I told Chris, I wonder if that's us sometimes with the Lord, where the Lord is like, "I've told you I'm gonna do this for you, but don't you see I'm preparing it?" But because we're so caught up in the feeling of, "I want it now, I want it now," and I don't want to wait, and I don't understand waiting, that we even miss out in the process of what the Lord's trying to do. So guys, I encourage you today, as I'm gonna let the word encourage me today, that I have to trust the Lord's timing and not skip the process and let the Lord do what only he can do, because he knows what's a good gift for me. He knows what I'm gonna need 5 years from now. I don't. I can only see my current wants and needs, but the Lord knows the desires of my heart, and he is not disregarding what I want right now. He's just saying, I know what you want, and I want to give it to you, but I want to give it to you even better. So trust me. So in these times of waiting, let's trust his timing and let that just deepen our faith with him and deepen our trust with him. So when we actually speak to somebody, say, I trust the Lord, We have miles in it. We're not just saying it because it sounds good, but we're saying it because we have experienced it, and the fruit of our lives says that person has trusted the Lord. So let's pray. Dear Father God, thank you for the progress. Thank you for the process. Thank you for the times that we have to wait for you, because those are the times where we truly develop a deeper trust and faith in you, Lord. It doesn't mean that you're not here or you're not listening. It just means that you're preparing a way. And what we have to do as children is trust you and submit to you and find joy in the everyday life and the everyday things and remember the things that you have done, done to fill us, and to say the Lord is going to do it again, but he's going to do it better. And so I pray that if, as we wait As there's listeners sitting and saying, Lord, I've been waiting, Lord, that you fill their tank today, that you filled their hearts, that a still small voice will speak to them and you will show them, Lord, that you are still working, that you have not forgotten about that prayer request, that you're not just somewhere else and you don't, you don't care about what they're feeling. Father, you are near, but you are just preparing a way that will be a better gift. And even as we don't understand, Father, faith says that is believing it without seeing it. So even without seeing it right now, Father, we say we trust you, we believe in your ability. We know that you are still the God of miracles that can turn any situation around and that you can make a way when there's no way, Father. You are not— you didn't do that back then, you are still doing that operating in that today. And you want us to experience that version of you in our lives. So I thank you for the challenges, and I thank you for the waiting, because it only allows us to see you more. The waiting is not just for us, it's so we can get to know you better and see what you can do. So we thank you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So there you have it, your 5-minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.