Don't you just love those times in life of peace and tranquility? We can see God's hand as the vehicle of our many blessings and thankfulness comes easily, overflowing praise runs off our lips as we recognize His gifts to us. But what about the gifts we don't recognize?-times of struggle and pain. Are they any less from His gracious compassion for us?

In difficult times we tend to question God's will and wait-sometimes in agony-for the resolution of our circumstances. Yet often, those very circumstances, those mercies, are what best cause our faith to grow. Many of us are too weak to stand up under the pressures this life affords, and that's the very reason He blesses us with opportunities to trust Him during our times of trial or waiting. He wants to be our strength, the Rock we run to, sure of His ability to hold us safe in His hand. Whatever the landscape of our lives looks like, God's goodness always emerges as our surest hope.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

God's promises never fail us, even while we are questioning that truth. We are all familiar with Job and the losses he suffered. While being told that all his land and all his sheep and all his servants were consumed in a fire, he was interrupted only to learn that all his children were crushed in one of their homes when a strong wind came and caused the house to fall in on itself.

Job's response in this testing revealed this most valuable truth:

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21).

As things got worse for Job, answers didn't come quickly. He had to wait on God. And while he certainly had questions he wanted answered, he never lost faith. Sometimes we are met with silence as we question the wisdom of the Almighty. I'm coming to believe that silence from God is often His way of very clearly asking me this question: "Do you trust Me? Even though you don't understand the 'why' of your circumstances, do you trust Me?"

Psalm 46:10 encourages us:

Be still, and know that I am God.

Having a still spirit in the midst of tumultuous times is evidence of a trusting heart. Waiting on God can be a painful experience, particularly if we lose perspective and start questioning what we know to be true of God. But it doesn't have to be that way. Instead, if we review God's faithfulness to us in the past and meditate on truths of Scripture regarding His love for us and the good things He has planned for us, we can actually experience a sense of calm and peacefulness, even though we don't yet know the outcome of our particular situation. Here is a truth that is bigger than any circumstance:

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:3-4).

That sounds a lot like Job's response. He praised God. He trusted God. He waited on God. The Bible tells of many people who waited on God, learning a lot about trust. Twenty-five years passed between the promise of a child to Abram and the birth of Isaac. David was anointed king by Samuel before he even reached manhood, yet David was 37 years old before he ruled as king over all of Israel. And scholars estimate it was some ten years between the Lord calling Paul on the road to Damascus and his first missionary journey.

Why these delays? Were they delays or seasons of preparation? God used those intervening years to deepen the relationship between Himself and His children, to develop the character of those He chose for the particular task to which He called them.

Is there something you are now waiting on God for, some desire of your heart you are hoping will come to pass sooner rather than later? It may be for a physical healing, for the salvation of a loved one, for the repairing of a relationship. Recognizing God in the waiting is half the battle. Trusting Him with the outcome is the other half. In all things, He is faithful.

Through joy, struggle, peace or pain, God's Word is our abundant source of strength and comfort.

I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:13-14).