I know I am making myself vulnerable here by telling you that when it comes to eating waffles for breakfast, in my book, peanut butter and syrup go hand in hand. Some of you may reject this idea completely, and that is acceptable—even though I believe you are missing out on something so, so good!

Love and waiting go hand in hand, too. I learned about this relationship recently as I compared what the prophet Isaiah and the Apostle Paul both say about the same topic. Consider the following two passages:

From of old no one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him” (Paul quoting Isaiah in 1 Corinthians 2:9)

Both Isaiah and Paul are encouraging us to open our hearts to hope, big time hope! They assure us that God is not a reactionary God who is waiting for life to happen to us to then react with a plan for our lives. They encourage us with the hope that God has prepared and acts based on plans He has for our lives. Furthermore, those plans go beyond what our eyes have seen, or what ears have heard, or our minds have imagined! Pretty cool stuff, don’t you think?

So where is the catch? Is there a catch or condition? Glad you asked! If we can speak of conditions, we would find two: those who love God and those who wait for Him get to experienced the benefits of God’s plans.

Love informs our waiting, and our waiting positions us to love God well!

What is life like for you these days? Whether you are experiencing blessing or hardship, know that your love for God will invite you to wait for Him. As you wait for Him and His ways, your love will be refined.

I hope you hear between the lines that there are solid reasons for you to hope in God. There is no God besides Him. You are in His mind and His plans! Our part is to respond in love and patience.

—Diego Cuartas