Why Is This Taking So Long?
Daily Devotional — Friday, November 6, 2026
“For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” — Mark 4:28–29, NKJV
Heart Change Insight
We’ve prayed, obeyed, had difficult conversations, and made some real changes. Maybe we’ve watched someone we love begin reconnecting with God and making better choices. Still, the fruit isn’t what we hoped to see yet, and sooner or later the question comes: Why is this taking so long?
That question is understandable. The danger comes when impatience starts convincing us that slow growth means no growth.
Why Is This Taking So Long? Growth Has an Order
Jesus described growth as a process: first the blade, then the head, then the full grain. There’s an order to it. We understand that easily in nature because nobody plants seed on Monday, digs it up on Tuesday, and complains that there isn’t a mature harvest yet.
Spiritually, though, we often expect change to happen that fast.
We want the breakthrough, the healed relationship, the mature response, the new habit, and the visible fruit now. God can certainly bring dramatic change quickly, and I’m grateful when He does. But much of heart change develops through repeated connection, receiving, and obedience over time.
That means unfinished doesn’t necessarily mean unsuccessful.
When We Try to Hurry the Fruit
When growth feels too slow, we can start trying to help it along. We begin pressing harder, adding expectations, offering more correction, or demanding a level of maturity that simply isn’t established yet. We may even turn that pressure on ourselves and think, I should be farther along by now. I shouldn’t still struggle with this.
The problem is that fruit can’t be forced into ripeness.
In Releasing God’s Life Through the Hearts of Men, I describe how impatience can move us toward other ways of producing the response we want instead of staying connected to God long enough for His life to bear fruit. God’s timetable doesn’t always match our preferred timetable.
This isn’t an excuse for passivity. Obedience still matters. Boundaries matter. Responsibility matters. The issue is whether we’re responding to what God is doing now or demanding a result that belongs to a later stage.
Slower Is Faster
This is why I keep coming back to One Thing Obedience.
Most of us don’t mature by fixing every area at once. Healthy growth often means allowing one area to become established before adding another. For one person, that may involve learning to experience safety before they can trust. For someone else, it may mean practicing a healthy boundary, receiving help consistently, following through on one obedience, or learning to remain connected when something feels uncomfortable.
Those are examples, not a universal sequence. The point is that growth has developmental baselines, and those baselines often need time to become stable, tested, and maintained.
I sometimes say “slower is faster.” When we slow down enough to reconnect with God, receive from Him, and pay attention to what He’s doing now, we’re less likely to race ahead and build on something that hasn’t become stable yet.
That doesn’t mean slowing down guarantees faster visible results. It means we give healthy growth room to become established. A stronger baseline can take us farther than rushing into the next step before we’re ready.
In Patient in the Process, we use a simple illustration: having all the right ingredients doesn’t mean you have the finished result the moment they’re combined. Transformation requires process.
The same is true spiritually. We can obey today without demanding that today produce everything God intends to grow eventually.
Cooperating With What God Is Doing Right Now
A better question than Why am I not there yet? may be, What is God doing right now?
Maybe today’s obedience is telling the truth, staying connected instead of withdrawing, practicing a boundary, receiving help, or choosing one healthier response that still feels unfamiliar.
Those steps may seem small when we’re focused on the harvest we want, but they may be exactly where God is working.
Our part is to receive, obey, and cooperate with Him today without demanding tomorrow’s fruit before its time.
Reflection
Where are you feeling impatient with the pace of growth in yourself or someone you care about?
What might God be establishing right now that needs time to become stable before the next step is added?
Prayer
Father, help me trust Your timing without becoming passive or discouraged. Show me where impatience is pushing me to force a result that isn’t ready yet. Teach me to slow down, stay connected to You, and recognize the obedience You’re asking of me today. Give me grace to receive what You’re providing and cooperate with what You’re doing now. In Jesus' name, amen.
Today's Step of Obedience
Identify one area where you’ve been frustrated by slow progress. Instead of trying to solve the whole thing today, ask, “What is God doing right now, and what is my next obedience?” Practice that one response today without demanding the finished result.
Grow Deeper
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Foundations for Heart Change
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