Vital Signs: Monday, February 17, 2025

Holding On Through the "Nevers"

Never - It’s the word that can stir the deepest fear in the bravest heart.

“I’ll never find a job.”

“This will never get better.”

“I’ll never get married.”

“I’ll never have the child I long for.”

“He’ll never come home to me.”

It’s the lie that originates from our sinful nature, insisting on putting a decisive end to all of our hopes. Don’t bother to dream, it whispers cruelly. You don’t deserve it. Stop wishing for what can never be.

And so, we continue driving the nails into the coffin of our dearest longings.

“The Lord will never answer my prayers.”

But this is the challenge of waiting on God—it’s the ability to keep hoping when the "nevers" of life bombard us, when the minutes, hours, days, and years tick away without answers to our most passionate pleas at the throne of grace. It’s the faith to cling to the Father on the long road when human reason tells us to give up.

If the "nevers" of life are discouraging you—if you’ve waited for the Lord to fulfill His promises, if you wonder why God has allowed such a lengthy delay in answering the deepest cries of your heart—then this is the right reading plan for you. If you look, you’ll find meaning and hope in these times of waiting on the Lord to respond. Though you may not see Him working, you can be certain that He is because He guarantees, “[He] acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him” (Isa. 64:4).

Not only that, but the Father has an awesome plan for you—one that is fantastic, perfectly suited for you, and that will give ultimate meaning to your life.