If you’re in a waiting season, you already know how confusing, lonely, and outright painful it can be. The longer you pray and wait for the desire of your heart—whether that’s clarity, a relationship, a baby, healing, career movement, an open door, or fill in the blank—the easier it becomes to lose hope. You start to wonder if God sees you or even cares, or if maybe you missed the boat somewhere or somehow messed up His plan (spoiler alert: you didn’t).
I’ve been there before. I walked through my own painful, 10-year waiting story, and there’s things I’m still waiting on today. This side of heaven, we will always be waiting on something—because ultimately we are waiting for Christ’s return. In my own waiting seasons, I’ve felt desperate for words of hope, comfort, and encouragement, which I’ve found in these books. If you’re in a waiting season, I pray God might use one of these Christian books on waiting to speak the very words you need to hear.
5 CHRISTIAN BOOKS ON WAITING
1. So Much Better by Kaci Nicole Harlow
This first one is my book, born from my own 10-year waiting story when I wrestled with the loss of the timeline I imagined and wondered if God saw me…or even cared.
What I learned is this: God cares about the desires of our hearts. But He cares even more about who we’re becoming while we wait.
In So Much Better, I share vulnerable parts of my own story, and the most profound biblical truths and encouragement God met me with in the hardest moments of my wait, that changed everything.
If you’re wondering whether God is telling you to let go of your desire or to keep waiting, if you’re wondering what “waiting on God” even looks like, if you feel like God teased you but doesn’t actually have good for you, if you’re tired of comparing your life to everyone else and feeling behind, if you want to hear God’s voice and know how He’s guiding you in this season of life, if you want to make the most of where God has you right now while still holding hope for what He has next…I wrote this book for you.
I also wrote a companion study called the So Much Better Bible Study, which digs deep into Scripture to unpack six key ways God tends to work in our waiting. If you’ve ever heard “God is working in your waiting,” and wondered, “Okay, but how?”—this is for you. It includes both workbook and video curriculum, and it’s perfect for individuals or small groups.
2. Still Waiting by Ann Swindell
I’m so thankful for Ann’s willingness to share her story and write this book. Still Waiting by Ann Swindell is a beautiful and honest look at what it means to trust God in the midst of unmet desires and unanswered prayers, and it deeply encouraged me in the midst of my own waiting story. Through her own story of waiting for healing from an incurable condition, alongside the biblical account of the Bleeding Woman, Ann reminds us that waiting is not without purpose. She writes with vulnerability about the pain, frustration, and even shame that can accompany seasons of waiting, while pointing readers to the hope, grace, and faithfulness of God. This book is a meaningful encouragement for anyone longing for God to change their circumstances and needing the reminder that He is at work even when the waiting feels endless.
3. It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst
This is a deeply powerful book for anyone who has experienced the disappointment of life not unfolding the way they expected. While It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst is not exclusively about waiting, Lysa speaks honestly about the heartbreak of unmet expectations, unanswered prayers, and the tension between what we hoped for versus what God has allowed (which, is often such a huge part of waiting seasons, am I right?) Through sharing her own painful experiences, she offers biblical encouragement for navigating seasons of uncertainty and disappointment, reminding readers that even when life feels broken, God is still present, faithful, and working. This book is a powerful reminder that we can trust God's goodness even when things don’t unfold the way we imagined they would…or the way we thought they should.
4. Waiting on God by Andrew Murray
First published in 1896, Waiting on God by Andrew Murray is a timeless devotional that invites readers to discover the spiritual depth and beauty of waiting on the Lord. Through thirty-one short devotional readings, Murray explores what it means to wait with humility, patience, faith, and complete dependence on God. Rather than viewing waiting as an interruption to the Christian life, he reminds us that it is an essential part of our relationship with the Lord—a place where our faith is strengthened and our hearts are taught to trust Him more fully. This is a rich and challenging read for anyone longing to grow in their dependence on God and learn to wait on Him with greater expectation.
5. Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty
Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty introduced me to a perspective I had never thought of before: we cannot fully appreciate the beauty of God’s character if we aren’t first deeply aware of our areas of lack. “One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry every bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7). This book is a beautiful and vulnerable reflection on discovering God's goodness in the midst of life's hardest seasons. Through her personal journey of longing, infertility, adoption, and motherhood, Sara explores how God uses both the bitter and the sweet experiences of life to draw us closer to Himself. This book is especially meaningful for those walking through seasons of waiting, reminding us that the fulfillment of our desires is not the only place we can experience God's goodness. We perhaps even experience it more deeply in the longing itself. Even in the ache of unanswered prayers, there is sweetness to be found in God’s presence always.
What do you think of this list—any you want to add to your TBR? I’d love to hear in the comments what you’ve been learning in your season of waiting on God!
MUCH LOVE,
