The story of Joseph is one many people know, and God’s supernatural mercy and kindness are beautifully displayed through this account of brokenness and redemption. Joseph was given dreams by the Lord at the age of seventeen, foretelling that he would someday rule with authority, even over his older brothers. But Joseph could never have guessed that it would take thirteen years—during which he was sold into slavery, wrongfully accused, and thrown into prison—before those dreams came to pass. The promise was clear, but the process was not. Joseph’s story again reminds us that a “sudden” fulfillment often follows years of unseen preparation.
Sometimes God shows us the destination but not the entire route. If we knew everything that would happen along the way, many of us would quit before God’s plans for our lives were fulfilled. Yet through the waiting and trials, Joseph remained faithful, and in God’s perfect timing, he reached his destination: He was promoted to oversee all of Egypt and even witnessed his brothers bowing down to him, just as his dreams had foretold. What unfolded in one day was the result of quiet faithfulness over many years.
When “Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves down before him with their faces to the ground,” he “also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them” (Gen. 42:6, 9). In that moment, years of confusion suddenly made sense as God revealed the full picture.
God not only brought Joseph’s dreams to pass, but He did so swiftly in their due season. When Pharaoh needed his dreams interpreted, Joseph was brought out of the dungeon, explained the prophetic meaning of the dreams, and was immediately recognized for his wisdom. Think about it: Joseph woke up in a prison cell, and by the end of the same day, he was the second-in-command over the powerful nation of Egypt. This is the nature of God’s suddenlies. What seems delayed for years can shift in a single day when God says it is time.
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We cannot predict what a day will bring, but we can trust the Lord, who sees it all, and know that the day of sudden breakthrough is on its way. God is never scrambling to fulfill His promises; He is positioning us until the appointed moment arrives.
By now, you may be wondering why God makes us wait. I honestly do not know. But I do believe He uses that time to build our character and devotion to Him. Perhaps He is sculpting us like a potter with clay, forming us so our gifts and callings will have a great impact for His glory when we are finally brought to the stage. Be encouraged. Waiting is not wasted time. It is often the hidden preparation for a suddenly we could not survive without.
Your waiting season may be longer than you expected, but it is not longer than God intended.
The prophet Isaiah explains that the clay has no right to tell the potter how to craft it, what method to use, or how it must be shaped. After all, the clay is just clay without the potter. However, with the potter, the clay becomes a perfect masterpiece.
Joseph is a perfect example of someone being sculpted like clay in the potter’s hands while waiting for God’s promise. God honed his ability to hear His voice, tested his integrity, and developed his leadership. Those years in slavery and hardship were not meaningless; they prepared him to lead Egypt during a famine and ultimately save many lives.
The suddenly did not negate the waiting season; it revealed its purpose.
I don’t know the challenges you’re facing, but I do know this: You can trust God with your dream, your calling, your heart’s desire. He will bring it to pass at His appointed time. He is using this time of waiting to prepare you for the promise. Your waiting season may be longer than you expected, but it is not longer than God intended. If God was faithful to Joseph even after all he endured, He will be faithful to you as well.
Praying Through the Silence
Outside of Abraham and Jesus, Hannah may be my other favorite person in Scripture. Her faith is so raw, real, and deeply impactful. On some of my hardest days, I have held on to her story as a reminder that God hears and answers our prayers. Hannah’s life shows us that God’s “suddenly” answers often follow seasons of deep silence.
There’s something authentic about a woman desperately crying out to God year after year for her heart’s desire. Her dream was not from the world, but rather, God planted it inside her. Silence doesn’t mean absence; it often means God is working beneath the surface.
Hannah was one of Elkanah’s two wives. His other wife, Peninnah, had children, but Hannah did not. In fact, Scripture tells us that “the Lord had closed her womb” (1 Sam. 1:5). Not only did Hannah not have children, but God was the One keeping her from having them. Sometimes God blocks every opportunity for us to do things in our own strength, so we have no choice but to trust Him to accomplish what only He can do supernaturally. And when the breakthrough comes, He alone receives the glory.
Year after year, Peninnah poked at Hannah for being barren, and year after year, Hannah carried the ache of childlessness. Perhaps you know what it feels like to have an area of your life feel barren or empty despite having continually cried out to God for an answer. Waiting can feel endless until suddenly it isn’t.
May I just say, I know exactly what that feels like. I’ve had dreams so heavy on me that I knew the Lord had to have given them to me. Like Hannah, I’ve cried out day after day, night after night, asking the Lord to do what He promised. In the waiting, I’ve learned that persistence in prayer is often the soil where sudden breakthroughs take root.
Through it all, God has taught me something valuable: Sometimes He requires action, but most of the time, all He wants is for us to be obedient and still. He has also shown me that I can choose joy. I can choose to speak His promises over my life and trust Him to act. Choosing joy in silence prepares our hearts for the moment when God moves suddenly.
While choosing joy can be difficult because it goes against my immediate emotions, it ultimately means picking up my cross and following Jesus, accepting the fullness of what He paid for on the cross. One of the easiest verses that has helped me speak joy into my life is Nehemiah 8:10, which says, “The joy of the Lord is [my] strength.” Speaking that truth takes the pressure off me and helps me trust in God instead of my imperfect self.
I share this piece of my heart in hopes that you too will choose to be hopeful even when you can’t see an answer. Little by little, God will move in miraculous ways we may not recognize at first.
Hannah was “bitter, and prayed to the Lord, and wept severely” (1 Sam. 1:10). Sometimes we pray like Hannah did—with tears and in our hearts, with words not even fully formed. I have prayed that way more times than I can count.
Even while writing this section, I wept over things I’m still waiting for. But I know God is faithful. He sees every tear and hears every prayer. Nothing God starts remains unfinished.
If He has given you a promise—a hope of something new and beautiful to be born—He will bring it to pass. God’s promises are not dependent on our timelines, but they often arrive in moments that feel sudden to us. A delay does not mean God has denied our request; it often means God is preparing something beyond what we can see.
It’s a common phrase, but it’s absolutely true: What God has for you is for you. He created each of us with a specific purpose in mind. If you seek Him, you will find Him. He will answer you and deliver you from every pit of despair you may find yourself in.
There was a time when I questioned absolutely everything God had promised me. One night, I prayed, “Lord, this is what I desire, but if You have something else, I will accept it.” I thought I was doing what was appropriate, surrendering to God’s will. But God doesn’t want us to give up the dreams He has placed within us. If He’s already shown you His will for your life, He expects you to believe what He said. Even if you don’t understand how He’ll do it, He is not a man that He should lie (Num. 23:19).
That night, God gave me one of the most vivid dreams of my life. The main image was of a banquet feast with the best dishes I’d ever tasted, seen, or smelled. In one moment, God replaced years of doubt with clarity and reassurance. When I awoke, I sensed Him clearly say, “Do you really think I would put the very best thing for your life in front of you and then take it away?”
In that moment, God exposed a lie I had believed: that the best things in life were reserved for other people, not me. I suddenly knew I had been perceiving God all wrong, believing He might answer my prayers and give me good gifts if I was rigid and religious. My mindset has since shifted. I realized God is after the heart. He is after true faith and trust. Life is not a performance. It is a chance to know the God of the universe, who thought creation would be best with you in it.
I don’t know what dreams God has placed inside you, but I do know this: God has heard your pleas and seen your tears, just as He did Hannah’s. And He will answer you in His powerful, perfect timing.
Life is not a performance. It is a chance to know the God of the universe, who thought creation would be best with you in it.
Hannah’s suddenly became Samuel, her first child, and the beginning of a legacy far greater than she imagined. First Samuel 2:21 tells us, “The Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.” One suddenly opened the door to something much greater.
Do not give up on the God-ordained dreams He’s placed within you. Just as Samuel was the beginning of Hannah’s motherhood, that desire within you may be the beginning of something much greater.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected]. Learn more about Abby at abbytrivett.com.
