Trusting God in a Season of Waiting for a Spouse

Bart Leger (0:00): Before we get started, I've set up a private Facebook group where Daily Devotions listeners can connect with each other and pray for one another. I'd love for you to join us at dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/group. Now, let's get into today's episode. Irene became a Christian in college, and from then on, she knew what she wanted in a husband: a man with a solid faith. Pastor level, she called it.

Bart Leger (0:26): She was still single at 27 watching her friends get married one by one, still single at 30 when the panic set in. She told God she was willing to meet him halfway. Even a child, she said, she could do without, just a husband, please? He didn't answer, or at least not the way she was expecting. The years kept passing, so she threw herself into church ministry leading an adult's fellowship and serving wherever she could.

Bart Leger (0:53): She was being mentored by older women who prayed over her like a daughter, and she kept bringing her desire for husband back to God year after year. We'll come back to eventually what happened. But first Welcome to daily devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger. If you're single and would rather not be, this episode's for you.

Bart Leger (1:18): And I want to say upfront, I'm not going to tell you it'll happen when you stop looking, and I'm not going to tell you to enjoy this season because I know how hollow that sounds when what you want is a person to come home to. I've sat across from singles in my office who are carrying this longing with genuine grief, And I've sat across from people years later who married someone out of impatience and were living with the consequences. Both conversations broke my heart. I know the waiting can be tough, but forcing it before God's timing does damage that will take years to undo. Does God ever hold back anything good from us?

Bart Leger (1:59): Let's see what the psalmist says. This is Psalm eighty four eleven. For the Lord God is our son and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.

Bart Leger (2:14): That last line is the one I want you to hear. The Lord will withhold no good thing. If marriage is a good thing, and it is, then either he is preparing it for you, or he's preparing you for it, or maybe both. What he's not doing is withholding it carelessly or punishing you. He's God, so he certainly didn't forget that you asked.

Bart Leger (2:37): And God's not indifferent to your longing. He created marriage. He designed the desire for companionship. Genesis two eighteen records the first thing God called not good in all of creation, and it was a man being alone, or a woman for that matter. So when you ache for a partner, you're feeling exactly what God wired human beings to feel.

Bart Leger (3:01): The question is, what do you do with that ache while you wait? Here's what I've seen go wrong in the waiting. The longing, which starts as something genuine and God given, slowly turns into a fixation. Every relationship becomes an audition, and every event becomes an opportunity. Prayer starts to sound less like a conversation and more like a negotiation.

Bart Leger (3:23): And God, instead of being the one you're drawing close to, becomes the one you're waiting on to deliver something so you can get on with the rest of your life. And this shift can be very subtle, and it tends to make the waiting longer and lonelier than it has to be. The alternative is not to pretend you don't want what you want. It's to bring your desire to God without making it your primary pursuit. Ruth didn't pursue Boaz.

Bart Leger (3:49): She pursued faithfulness. She went to the fields to work to provide for Naomi to do what was in front of her, and Boaz noticed her there. Please don't dismiss that. That's a clear pattern in scripture. The people in the Bible who received what they had been waiting for were almost always found doing something faithful with where they already were.

Bart Leger (4:09): Now let's get back to Irene. At 39, she married a man named Mike. The crazy thing is she had already met her husband years earlier in high school. And then a year later, they had a daughter. Looking back, she wrote about what God had been doing in her during those twenty years she spent waiting.

Bart Leger (4:28): She had gone into the season focused on finding the right person, but she came out of it understanding what it meant to actually know God, not just to trust Him with something she wanted from Him. She had learned patience she didn't have. She had shed a pride she didn't even realize was there. And when Mike finally showed up, she was willing to admit she had almost pushed him away because he didn't fit the checklist she had built. Because back in high school, he already knew he she was his dream girl, but she pushed him away.

Bart Leger (5:02): It took the Lord changing her heart before she could see the man in front of her clearly. She wrote, for twenty years, I held on to God's promise for my life and for my future. And he demonstrated that indeed, nothing is impossible for him. Twenty years is a long time. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

Bart Leger (5:21): But look at what those twenty years produced in Irene. She went in looking for a husband. She came out knowing God. And when the husband arrived, she was someone different than the woman who had started waiting. That doesn't mean God always answers this prayer with a yes.

Bart Leger (5:37): Some people remain single their whole lives and live full, faithful, fruitful lives. Paul wrote half the New Testament unmarried. But for those of you who believe God has marriage in your future, Psalm eighty four eleven is a promise worth standing on. He will not withhold what's good from you. Trust the timing to the one who sees the whole picture.

Bart Leger (5:57): Here's today's challenge. Take the longing you've been carrying and bring it to God today, plainly and without negotiating. Tell Him what you want, then ask Him to show you what faithfulness looks like right where you are. Not what you need to do to find a spouse, just what it looks like to be present and purposeful in the life He's already given you. That's where Irene was when everything changed.

Bart Leger (6:20): Lord, you know the longing in the hearts of those listening today who would rather not be waiting. You designed that desire. You don't dismiss it. Please meet them in it, and give them patience to trust you, and help them find you in this season, not just what they're hoping you'll bring out of it. In Jesus' name, amen.

Bart Leger (6:39): If this podcast has been an encouragement to you, would you take a minute and leave a rating and review? You can do it in your podcast app or at dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/reviews/new. It helps people find these devotions, and it only takes a moment. I'd be so grateful. Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lies.

Bart Leger (7:01): Remember, God will not withhold what's good from you. Trust the timing to the one who sees the whole picture. Come back next time for more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless, and have a great day.