“How did I get here?” you ask yourself.
You remember so clearly how excited you were when God gave you the promise. It was far beyond anything you ever imagined, but you knew it was from Him.
Now, time has passed and still you have nothing tangible to show. People who initially shared in the excitement of the promise are asking questions. Their polite smiles suggest reservation at your no-longer-confident answers. Supporters have turned into spectators. At least, so you believe.
And you have to admit that you have noticed the shift inside your own heart.
Time has taken its toll on your initial excitement. The relentless questions from the enemy, your own feelings and circumstances have eroded deeply into your faith, with all expectancy seemingly evaporated.
All you feel left with, is the cracked landscape of disillusionment.
Brutal questions filling your mind: “Did I miss God?” “Is God even there or aware?”
When the excitement of new beginnings has faded and the “end is not nigh” our minds start asking questions. That is the sure sign of doubt creeping in.
We find ourselves in the uncomfortable space between what was promised to be miraculous, but now seems like a miserable mess. We are in the messy middle, where many might feel stuck and all too willing to give up.
Preparation time is never wasted time
The delay is not God’s denial. The waiting is often preparation on the potter’s wheel.
And our messiness in the physical, is often the confronter of the condition of our hearts.
It’s a place of choice. We can allow our dreams to die or accept the invitation to allow the frustration to be the birthing ground for growth.
The enemy loves our messes. It gives him a nice backdrop, providing the so-called supporting evidence, from which he will whisper more of his lies. And remember, anything with the anointing on, like a promise from God, will be challenged by the enemy because the purpose of the anointing is to destroy his kingdom.
The negative voices – we have to answer them!
It is our opportunity to become intentional about growth. Intentional about fiercely protecting the expectancy in our own hearts by ferociously guarding what we allow in.
Exposure shapes expectations. Ingesting the truth of scripture constantly is like drinking clean water, while lending one’s ears to lies can be likened to drinking murky water.
The Word builds faith and fans the dream. Intentionally filling our minds with Scripture promises – the source and backdrop of our promises from God, fuels the fire of expectation in our hearts.
Consistency is key
Years ago, in the midst of a very challenging situation, as we were leaving, my father-in-law came to the car window and spoke these profound words:
“Did you hear what the little bird said?” Then he said: “keep it up, not give it up.”
Keeping on is key!
Why? Because God is faithfully working in the background of our lives.
Imagine God’s disappointment if He has been faithfully working behind the scenes on your dream for all this time and you quit shortly before fulfilment day.
How would you like to be in God’s shoes?
In consistency character is constructed. The character we will need to keep us, where our calling and anointing is taking us.
A final thought. What if the delay is because what we are carrying is bigger than we think? And therefore, preparation takes longer than we think.
