What God Is Doing While You're Waiting
What is God doing while you're waiting? Discover how Joseph's story offers hope, purpose, and encouragement during seasons of delay and uncertainty.
Hey friends. I’m Pastor Chris, and I write Faith Unplugged for people who want a deeper relationship with God without all the performance and religious noise. If these articles encourage you, consider supporting this work through a paid subscription, or Buy Me a Coffee. Every bit helps me keep creating resources that point people toward Jesus and help them grow in their faith.
Nobody asks God for a waiting season.
We pray for open doors.
We pray for breakthroughs.
We pray for answers.
Very few of us pray for years of uncertainty.
Yet some of the most important work God does in our lives happens while we’re waiting.
I think that’s why so many people connect with Joseph’s story.
Because Joseph knew what it felt like to receive a promise from God and then spend years wondering if it would ever happen.
Maybe you know that feeling too.
Maybe God gave you a dream years ago.
Maybe you felt called into ministry.
Maybe you believed a relationship would work out.
Maybe you thought life would look different by now.
Instead, you’re waiting.
And if you’re honest, you’re starting to wonder what God is doing.
Joseph understands.
The Dream Came First
Joseph’s story begins with a dream.
Literally.
God gave Joseph visions that pointed toward a future of influence and leadership.
"Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." (Genesis 37:9)
God gave Joseph dreams that pointed toward a future of leadership and influence. His brothers understood exactly what the dreams meant, and they hated him for it.
If the story ended there, it would be a wonderful testimony.
But that’s not what happened.
Instead of promotion, Joseph was betrayed.
Instead of influence, Joseph was thrown into a pit.
Instead of leadership, Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
“Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.” (Genesis 37:28)
Joseph’s brothers didn’t just dislike him. They sold him into slavery. In a matter of hours, the dreamer became a servant, and the future God had shown him suddenly seemed impossible.
That’s the first thing we learn about a Joseph season.
Sometimes God’s promise arrives long before God’s timing.
Most of us want God to move from dream to fulfillment as quickly as possible.
God often chooses a different path.
When Life Moves Backward
Have you ever felt like your life was moving in the wrong direction?
You were trying to obey God.
Trying to do the right thing.
Trying to stay faithful.
Yet everything seemed to get worse.
Joseph experienced that.
He was taken far from home and sold as property.
Everything familiar disappeared.
Everything comfortable vanished.
The future he imagined suddenly looked impossible.
I know a little about what it feels like when God leads you away from something familiar.
For about twenty-five years, I attended the same church. It was home. I knew almost everyone. My wife and I both worked there full-time, and because it was a larger church, ministry wasn’t really a forty-hour-a-week job. Most weeks were closer to fifty or sixty hours.
We poured our lives into that place.
We loved the people. We loved the ministry. We watched God do incredible things over the years.
Then one day, God made it clear it was time to leave.
The reasons aren’t important. What mattered was knowing that God was calling us into a new season.
Leaving sounded exciting until we actually did it.
The church gave us a wonderful going-away party. People were kind. There were hugs, prayers, and lots of promises to stay in touch.
Then the next Sunday came.
We showed up for church, and I quickly realized how difficult it is to attend a church where you’ve spent years on staff.
People still expected me to solve problems. They still wanted ministry conversations. They still needed help. None of that was wrong. It was just hard to step out of a role I’d occupied for so long.
After a couple of Sundays, I understood why pastors leave town when they go on vacation. If you stay, it never really stops.
Eventually Katie and I decided to find another church.
And honestly, it felt like a step backward.
At our old church, I knew the culture. I knew the people. I knew where the relational landmines were buried. I knew who was hurting, who was leading, and who needed encouragement.
Suddenly I was the new guy.
Nobody knew my story.
I didn’t have deep friendships.
I didn’t know the culture.
I didn’t know where I fit.
I knew God had led us there.
But there were moments when I quietly wondered if I’d misunderstood Him.
But looking back now, I can see that God wasn’t taking something from me. He was leading me somewhere new.
The season felt uncomfortable because it was unfamiliar.
Joseph probably felt something similar.
One day he was surrounded by everything he had known. The next day he was standing in a place he never would have chosen for himself.
The pit felt like a step backward.
Slavery felt like a step backward.
Prison felt like a step backward.
But God was still leading.
And eventually, I discovered what Joseph learned too.
Not every step backward is actually backward.
Sometimes God leads us away from what is comfortable so He can prepare us for what comes next.
Many Christians quietly assume that obedience guarantees immediate blessing.
Scripture tells a different story.
Sometimes obedience places us directly in the middle of difficulty.
Joseph’s circumstances got worse before they got better.
Yet throughout the story we repeatedly read that the Lord was with him (Genesis 39:2, Genesis 39:21).
God’s presence did not remove Joseph’s hardship.
God’s presence sustained him through it.
Can we be honest about something?
Waiting doesn’t just test our patience.
It tests our view of God.
There are moments when you begin to wonder if God is paying attention.
You pray.
You trust.
You obey.
And nothing changes.
That’s when the enemy starts whispering that maybe God forgot.
Maybe God moved on.
Maybe God had a better plan for someone else.
Joseph’s story reminds us that God’s silence is not the same as God’s absence.
God was just as present in the prison as He was in the palace.
The Prison Nobody Wants
Most people know about Joseph’s coat.
Fewer people remember how much time he spent in prison.
After being sold into slavery, Joseph faithfully served in Potiphar's house. When Potiphar's wife repeatedly tried to seduce him, Joseph refused because he wanted to honor God. In response, she falsely accused him, and Joseph was thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Imagine that for a moment.
Joseph honored God.
Joseph did the right thing.
Joseph maintained his integrity.
And his reward was prison.
That’s where many believers get discouraged.
We think faithfulness should produce immediate results.
But God is often developing character before He releases responsibility.
Joseph was learning lessons in prison that he could never have learned in a palace.
Humility.
Patience.
Dependence.
Trust.
These are lessons that rarely grow in seasons of comfort.
How Do You Know You’re In A Joseph Season?
A Joseph season isn’t simply any difficult season.
Sometimes we suffer because of poor decisions.
Sometimes we suffer because we ignored wise counsel.
Sometimes life is simply hard.
A Joseph season is different.
A Joseph season is when you’re trying to obey God and your circumstances seem to move in the opposite direction.
You are being faithful.
You are growing.
You are honoring God.
Yet the promotion doesn’t come.
The opportunity doesn’t come.
The answer doesn’t come.
You find yourself asking:
“Lord, am I moving forward or backward?”
Joseph asked that question from a pit.
Then from slavery.
Then from prison.
And all three places turned out to be part of God’s plan.
The Hidden Work of God
One of the hardest realities about waiting is that most of God’s work is invisible.
We see the prison.
God sees the preparation.
We see the delay.
God sees the development.
We see closed doors.
God sees future opportunities we cannot yet imagine.
Romans 8:28 reminds us that God is working in all things for the good of those who love Him.
That doesn’t mean every circumstance is good.
Joseph’s slavery wasn’t good.
His betrayal wasn’t good.
His imprisonment wasn’t good.
But God was working through all of it.
The same is true for us.
Just because you cannot see God’s hand does not mean He has stopped working.
The Cupbearer Problem
One of the most painful moments in Joseph’s story comes after he interprets dreams for fellow prisoners.
Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him when he is restored to Pharaoh’s service.
Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. (Genesis 40:14)
The cupbearer agrees.
Then promptly forgets.
For two more years.
Joseph wasn’t forgotten by everyone.
He was forgotten by the one person who could help him.
Or so it seemed.
Have you ever felt forgotten?
Passed over?
Overlooked?
Left behind?
Maybe you’ve watched others receive opportunities you prayed for.
Maybe you’ve watched people move ahead while you stayed where you are.
Joseph’s story reminds us that human forgetfulness does not cancel divine faithfulness.
God had not forgotten him.
The timing simply wasn’t finished yet.
Waiting has a way of revealing what’s really in our hearts.
Do we trust God Himself?
Or only the things we hope He’ll give us?
That’s why waiting seasons can become some of the most spiritually productive seasons of our lives.
Waiting is not wasted when God is involved.
The waiting itself becomes part of the work.
The Palace Came Later
Eventually Pharaoh had a dream.
Eventually Joseph was remembered.
Eventually the prison doors opened.
Eventually the promise came to pass.
But notice something important.
Joseph stepped into the palace as a different man than the teenager who first received the dream.
The dream hadn’t changed.
Joseph had.
The years of waiting had transformed him.
God wasn’t merely preparing a position for Joseph.
God was preparing Joseph for the position.
That may be exactly what God is doing in your life right now.
What If You’re in a Joseph Season Right Now?
Maybe you’re waiting for clarity.
Maybe you’re waiting for healing.
Maybe you’re waiting for a job.
Maybe you’re waiting for a spouse.
Maybe you’re waiting for a prodigal child to come home.
Maybe you’re waiting for a ministry opportunity.
Maybe you’re waiting for a relationship to be restored.
Maybe you’re waiting for God to answer a prayer you’ve prayed a hundred times.
Keep showing up.
Keep praying.
Keep trusting.
Keep doing the next faithful thing.
God’s delays are not always God’s denials.
The same God who was working in Joseph’s pit, slavery, prison, and palace is still working today.
You may not understand the season you’re in.
The goal of a Joseph season isn’t ultimately getting what Joseph wanted.
It’s becoming who God wanted Joseph to be.
One day you may discover that the season you wanted to escape was the very season God used to prepare you for what comes next.
What Do You Do In a Joseph Season?
Be faithful where you are.
Joseph couldn’t control the palace. He could control how he served in Potiphar’s house. Many of us spend so much time wishing we were somewhere else that we miss what God is teaching us where we are.
Refuse to become bitter.
Joseph had every reason to become bitter. His brothers betrayed him. Potiphar’s wife lied about him. The cupbearer forgot him. Yet when Joseph finally met his brothers again, he wasn’t driven by revenge. He was driven by God’s purposes.
Stop comparing your timeline to someone else’s.
Comparison has a way of convincing us that God is blessing everyone except us. Someone else gets the opportunity. Someone else gets the breakthrough. Someone else seems to be moving ahead while you’re standing still. But God wasn’t writing Joseph’s story on anyone else’s timeline. And He isn’t writing yours on theirs.
Let God define success.
We often define success by results. God often defines success by faithfulness. Before Joseph ever stood in a palace, he honored God in a prison. The goal isn’t simply to reach the destination. It’s to become the person God is shaping you to be along the way.
Keep serving even when nobody notices.
Joseph served in Potiphar’s house. He served in prison. He served long before he ever served in a palace. Some of the most important growth happens in places where nobody is applauding. Be faithful where God has placed you today. You never know how He might use it tomorrow.
A Final Thought
I’ve noticed something about Joseph’s story.
The chapters we celebrate are the palace chapters.
The chapters God used were the prison chapters.
Maybe that’s what makes a Joseph season so difficult.
You usually don’t know you’re being prepared while it’s happening.
You think you’re being delayed.
You think you’re being overlooked.
You think you’re being forgotten.
Years later, you look back and realize God was building something in you that couldn’t have been built any other way.
The palace changed Joseph’s circumstances.
The prison changed Joseph.
Sometimes God fulfills the dream exactly as we imagined.
Sometimes He fulfills it differently.
The goal of a Joseph season isn’t ultimately getting what Joseph wanted.
It’s becoming who God wanted Joseph to be.
The palace changed Joseph’s circumstances.
The prison changed Joseph.
And sometimes the season you’re trying to escape is the very place God is preparing you for what comes next.
Support Faith Unplugged
If Faith Unplugged encourages you, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-time gift. Your support helps me continue creating articles, Bible studies, and resources for people who are trying to follow Jesus in the middle of real life. More importantly, it helps reach people who may feel disconnected from church but are still searching for hope.
Thank you for being part of this community.