God’s Timing vs. Your Timing: How to Trust God in Love and Relationships

When Waiting Feels Like a Lifetime

We live in a world that moves fast—instant gratification, instant connections, instant love stories. But love doesn’t work like that. Not the kind that lasts.

Maybe you thought you’d be married by now. Maybe you expected a relationship to last, but it fell apart. Maybe you're watching others step into love while you remain in what feels like an endless waiting season. It’s tempting to believe that God is holding out on you. But God is never late.

If love hasn’t arrived on your timeline, it’s not because you’ve been forgotten. It’s because He is still writing your story—and the Author of your life does not rush His best work. So how do you trust Him when your heart is growing impatient? How do you let go of your timeline and surrender to His?

The Illusion of Being Behind

There’s a quiet panic that comes when it feels like life is passing you by. Friends are getting engaged. Others are celebrating anniversaries. You attend weddings and wonder when it will be your turn. You scroll past pictures of happy couples and feel that familiar ache in your chest, whispering, Why not me?

We measure life by human timelines, but God never asked us to. The Bible is full of stories where God’s timing looked completely different from what people expected. Sarah laughed at the thought of having a child in her old age (Genesis 18:12), yet God fulfilled His promise to her. Joseph spent years in prison before stepping into the position God had for him. Even Jesus waited until He was thirty to begin His ministry, despite being the Son of God.

If God was in a hurry, He wouldn’t allow waiting seasons. But He does. And that’s because waiting is not wasted time. It’s preparation.

If love hasn’t arrived yet, it’s not because you are behind—it’s because God is still writing. And the Author of your story is never late.

The Danger of Forcing a Timeline

Impatience leads us to take things into our own hands. We settle. We compromise. We pursue relationships that feel "good enough" rather than ones that are God-ordained. We try to manipulate situations, hoping that if we just hold on tight enough, we can make something last that was never meant to.

But a love that is forced will never be fulfilling. A relationship that is built on fear—fear of being alone, fear of missing out, fear of running out of time—will never be what God intended.

Saul, Israel’s first king, learned this lesson the hard way. When Samuel didn’t arrive at the expected time to offer a sacrifice before battle, Saul took matters into his own hands, offering it himself instead of waiting as instructed. It cost him his kingdom (1 Samuel 13:8-14).

Impatience always has a price. And when it comes to love, the price is often settling for less than what God had planned.

God’s best will not require you to manipulate, beg, chase, or compromise. If something is truly from Him, it will come in His time, in His way, and with His peace.

Trusting God When Nothing Makes Sense

Some of the hardest moments of faith are the ones where God’s silence feels deafening. You’ve prayed. You’ve waited. And still, nothing seems to be changing. It’s in these moments that trust is tested the most.

But faith is not about understanding—it’s about surrender.

God’s timing is not random. It is intentional. Sometimes He withholds something, not because He is cruel, but because you are not ready for it—or it is not ready for you.

What if God is protecting you from heartbreak? What if He is developing qualities in you that you will need for a future marriage? What if the very thing you are waiting for will require a version of you that is still being shaped?

Waiting is hard. Trusting is harder. But God has never abandoned a single promise. And He will not start with you.

The Love That’s Worth the Wait

A love that is rushed will never compare to a love that is orchestrated by God.

When you meet the person He has for you, you won’t have to wonder if you’re enough. You won’t have to force things to work. You won’t have to manipulate the timing or question whether you’re in the right place at the right time. It will come with peace.

Ruth wasn’t looking for Boaz—she was faithfully walking in obedience when God aligned their paths. Adam was asleep when God created Eve—he didn’t have to strive to find her. God knows how to bring two people together in a way that no amount of striving can achieve.

So trust Him. Not just with your future, but with your heart in the waiting.

Because when His plan finally unfolds, you’ll realize it was never late. It was right on time.

💛 The Salt & Light Family