January 14, 2026 “Learning to Wait With Hope!”

Two years ago, around this time, I became very sick with pneumonia. I spent eight days in the hospital. The doctors gave me powerful antibiotics to clear the infection in my lungs. When I returned home, I continued taking high doses of medicine. After I finished the antibiotics, constipation returned, worse than it had been before my illness.

I will not share more details here. What matters most is that I have prayed every day for relief from the symptoms connected to this struggle. As I wait for healing, I ask myself: what spiritual lessons am I learning as I return to health?

I know I am not alone in waiting. You may be waiting for something too. Waiting is one of the most common experiences in the Bible. Bruce Downes reminds us that, “God’s delays are not God’s denials.”

We live in a world that moves at a rapid pace. We want quick results, instant answers, and immediate relief. Recovery does not move at our pace. It works to shape us, not rush us. Formation takes time. As Downes says, “Recovery is shaping something deeper than outcomes. It is molding us who must carry the answer when it comes.”

For every part of life, including healing, there is a divine clock at work. We cannot see it, but it is always moving. When Recovery asks us to wait, it is not ignoring our pain or our prayers. It is preparing us for what is still ahead.

Downes also says, “Sometimes the most powerful step of obedience is not to act, but to stay. Steadfast. Expectant. Surrendered. There is holiness in staying faithful when nothing seems to change. There is purity in praising God without proof. There is maturity in trusting His heart when you cannot trace His hand.”

This slow recovery has taught me patience and has challenged me not to fall into despair. I am learning to trust that God is not late. I believe He is working within me, even now, while I wait. And when the door finally opens, I will move forward ready and renewed.

Finally, Downes reminds us, “Stop measuring your life by human timelines and start receiving it by divine ones. You may not know how long the wait will last, but you do know the One who waits with you.”