Another day, my toddler son finished breakfast. We were having a good time, laughing and playing together, when suddenly he ran to the entrance of the house and started putting his boots on. He wanted to go to school. It was Saturday. No school was needed that day. But he didn’t understand that concept yet. When I told him we wouldn’t be going to school, he started crying with a very impressive level of frustration, as if the world was ending right then and there.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry with him.
And I thought: sometimes God looks at us the same way. We want something desperately, but it’s clearly not the right time. We don’t understand why, but Someone bigger than us does.
He doesn’t have the capacity to understand timing, or that sometimes “no” actually means “not yet.” He only knows what he wants, and he wants it now. And honestly, aren’t we the same?
God’s Timing is Perfect
Let’s look at some Bible knowledge around this topic.
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9
My son had a plan. Boots on, out the door. But I had different plans for him that morning.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11
My son wasn’t wrong to want to go to school. He loves it there. But it wasn’t time yet. He just didn’t know that.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
When my son cries because he can’t go to school on Saturday, it’s not that he doesn’t want to learn. It’s that he can’t see what I can. In the same way, when we pray and don’t get an immediate “yes,” it’s not that God doesn’t care. He just sees what we can’t.
Waiting Builds Faith
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
Waiting is hard. It was hard for me as a child, it’s hard for me as an adult, and it’s impossibly hard for a toddler. But that’s kind of the point. Waiting builds something in us that getting things immediately never could: trust.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the one who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” James 5:7
So the next time your prayer hasn’t been answered, maybe it’s Saturday. Maybe it’s not time yet. And maybe God’s “not yet” is protecting you from something you can’t see.
Trust the Father. He knows when it’s time to put on the boots and go.
Rodolfo
This post is part of the “Kids Teaching Us” series, where I share lessons I’ve learned from watching my children grow and discover the world.