If you’ve ever looked around and wondered why everyone else seems to be moving forward while you’re standing still, you’re not alone. Social media is filled with engagements, promotions, ministry milestones and answered prayers, making it easy to believe you’re somehow falling behind. But evangelist David Diga Hernandez says that’s a dangerous lie for Christians to embrace.
“Because the timeline in your head hasn’t happened, you start to wonder whether something is wrong with you spiritually,” Hernandez said. “That is where feeling behind stops being just a feeling and starts to do real damage.”
God Is Still Working While You’re Waiting
Hernandez doesn’t speak from theory. He recalls being in his mid-20s, faithfully serving in ministry while struggling to afford an apartment or even a car. The gap between where he expected to be and where he actually was became a source of frustration.
“I was actually a little bit frustrated with God,” Hernandez admitted. Yet looking back, he now sees those years differently.
“What I didn’t realize was that God was actually doing something even during then,” he said.
That’s an encouraging reminder for every believer. God often develops our character long before He changes our circumstances.
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Faithfulness Is More Than Waiting
One of Hernandez’s strongest points is that biblical perseverance isn’t passive.
“Perseverance isn’t just waiting,” he said. “Perseverance is waiting while doing the right things with the right attitude.”
That means continuing to pray, obey, work diligently and trust the Lord without allowing disappointment to harden our hearts. Scripture repeatedly shows us that God honors faithful obedience, even when the harvest isn’t immediately visible.
Gratitude Keeps Faith Alive
Hernandez also warned against comparing our lives with others. He shared how he and his wife endured years of infertility while friends around them celebrated pregnancies. Rather than allowing those moments to breed resentment, they intentionally poured their love into nieces, nephews and friends’ children.
“That gratitude was healing to the heart,” Hernandez said. “But in a heart that’s grateful, faith can thrive.”
Our culture celebrates speed, instant success and visible achievements. God’s kingdom operates differently. We are not called to race against everyone else’s timeline but to walk faithfully in the one God has prepared for us. If we remain obedient, grateful and steadfast, today’s waiting season may become tomorrow’s testimony.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
