When God Says “Wait”: Navigating Life’s Detours and Delays Without Losing Your Faith, Your Friends, or Your Mind

Thompson takes a smattering of biblical characters (David, Joseph, Miriam, Naomi, Sarah, among others), gives them fuller storylines than the Bible depicts, and details how waiting played crucial roles in each of their lives. While the book never professes to be an exactly accurate recreation and Thompson fabricates much of what might have taken place, she does base her embellishments squarely upon Scripture. Each of the author’s 12 profiles is complete with contemporary life parallels in which waiting can engender impatience, anger, bitterness, depression, pity, and discouragement. Thompson guides readers through these potential pitfalls and offers Christians pointed introspective questions at the close of each chapter to provide strength in the midst of life’s waiting rooms. Christ followers will appreciate her full-bodied “fill-in-the-blanks” stories but may be put off by sporadic, inconsistent attempts to insert humor into the narrative. In the end, Thompson achieves her purpose of highlighting the positive aspects of learning to wait in the midst of emotional suffering, physical pain, or crushing disappointment. (Mar.)