A few weeks ago, I harvested four large green tomatoes from my garden. They were at the bottom of the vine, completely shaded. I thought it would be best to bring them home to ripen. I placed them on my windowsill, which gets flooded with sun with the expectation that I’d enjoy them in my salad pronto!

Day after day I waited for a hint of red to appear. Nothing. A few people advised me that it might be better to place them in a brown bag, so I tried that. Nothing. Then my gardening expert friend told me that they needed a boost – that is, they needed either a ripe tomato or another piece of fruit to jumpstart the process.

I placed several ripe tomatoes in the bag and waited. Nothing. I went home to Long Island for a few days and when I returned, I peeked inside. Voila! As you can see, they made tremendous progress…without me! (Hmmm…)

My (unrealistic) expectations were that as soon as the tomatoes were in the window, they’d ripen. Then, my expectations (yet again unrealistic) were that they’d ripen after being in a “time out” in the paper bag. 

Yet all they needed was…more time. They were off the vine and needed some additional time to get their act together. Interesting…apart from the vine, they did nothing. Reminds me of a Scripture:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NKJV)

Many times, we want miraculous answers to our prayers. We want God to be like Nike and “Just do it.”  While I’m not saying He is not perfectly capable of this (just look at the miracles in the Bible), more often than not, answers to our prayers may take a bit longer.

If you ask me why, I can’t give you one solid answer. But here’s what I can tell you. If God didn’t answer your prayer when you wanted, there’s a reason and He knows it. Our job is not to become impatient and take matters into our own hands (Proverbs 3:5-6), but to trust that our Father in heaven knows what’s best for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

We are to put our trust in Him because we know that a) He hears us when we pray (1 John 5:14-15) and b) He answers every single one of our prayers (John 14:13-14). 

My tomatoes did not ripen on day one…nor day ten. It took a solid twenty-plus days for them to go from bright green to bright red. Should I have left them on the vine? I’m not sure, but you know what? They are the sweetest tasting tomatoes of the season!

I did not get my “miraculous ripening,” but what I got was a harvest of delicious tomatoes that I’m now enjoying. In my frustration and impatience, I was ready to toss them, but I chose to wait…one more day. 

That’s what God is asking each of us… wait…one more day.

Let’s set our minds to look for the everyday blessings that God has given us. Just because God didn’t give you a miraculous answer to your prayer the moment you asked, doesn’t mean that He’s not doing something miraculous in your life.

Just wait one more day. Just trust Him one more day. Your blessing is right around the corner if you won’t give up (Galatians 6:9). And it will be “exceedingly, abundantly above anything you can ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

P.S. If you need help in setting the right and best expectations, check out the Elevate The Day Podcast, “What Are You Expecting?”