Miss Ophelia G. Browning wrote a hymn called “Unanswered Yet” in 1879. Maybe this part will resonate with you:

“Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered, Her feet are firmly planted on the Rock; Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted, Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock. She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer, And cries, ‘It shall be done’ – sometime, somewhere.”

Quail is a word we may not use much, but we can surely relate to its meaning “to cringe in fear or pain, to draw back, to wither, to decline.” The “it shall be done” from the hymn excerpt is not a specific “yes” to a specific prayer request, but rather a settled confidence that Jesus, our Rock, can be trusted when we experience fear or pain. Jesus shifts our longing toward Himself and away from other lesser longings as we wait on His timing and purposes to unfold.

Psalm 143:1 says, “Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in Your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.” Faith that is firmly planted on the Rock is confident that God hears and that God is merciful, faithful, and righteous. And while we may be asking God Why? – God reminds us that we should be asking Who? He wants our focus to be fixed on Him, knowing Him, communing with Him. He is the answer to Who?.

The longing for motherhood is indeed fierce. The waiting seems impossible. However, we can be sure that God is doing something in our pain. God often tests His children to strengthen their faith. Recall the faith of Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar. It didn’t make sense. It was the wildest of storms in Abraham’s soul. It was a thunder shock beyond compare. Yet Omnipotence was there, ready to display mercy and grace, ready to provide a ram as a substitute, ready to see Abraham’s obedience, and ready to reward his faith. In obedience, Abraham focused on Who instead of Why.

The greatest longing fulfilled in life is to fully possess Jesus as Savior and Lord. When His work in my life takes center stage and not my own work. When His desires overtake mine. When His perspective proves better than mine. When I am yielded to Him even when I feel that God’s test of my faith is too impossible to bear and that I am sure to fail.

Although its desire comes naturally as if hardwired into women, motherhood is never a given. Yet unfulfilled motherhood can be one of the loneliest, most painful journeys in life. Without faith in the Creator God Who holds the power of life and death, there is no outlet for thriving or flourishing in the face of grieving a child you never knew. Faith in Him makes the “unanswered yet” the thing that can be confidently place in the hands of God for safekeeping.

The thing that gradually resets our hardwiring is to find solace in God’s decisions and outcomes, both the yeses and noes, and to delight in His filling of our cups as complete. Our feet must be firmly planted on the Rock. This is when faith cannot be unanswered.

Psalm 40:1-3 (NKJV) says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth – Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.”