“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5
When was the last time someone asked if you were pregnant?
I’m not talking about physical pregnancy. I’m talking about being pregnant with a calling, a ministry, a book, a business idea, a song, a dream God has placed deep within your heart.
Before Jeremiah ever took his first breath, God already knew the plans He had for his life. The same is true for us. God often plants purpose within us long before we fully understand what He is doing.
Over the years, I’ve learned that God often works much like a pregnancy. Before something is born, there is usually a season of preparation, growth, waiting, and trust.
When I returned to my hometown years ago, God began moving me through seasons of preparation. He planted me in one place, taught me what I needed to learn, and then moved me again. Over the years, He led me from a secular health club to the YMCA, to one of the largest churches in our community, and eventually to our home church. At the time, I didn’t always understand the moves. Looking back, I can see that every season was preparing me for the next God planned assignment.
What I once viewed as interruptions were preparations. What I once saw as delays were divine appointments. What I once viewed as uncertainty was often God’s way of teaching me to trust Him.
Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
I’ve learned that when God says go, our responsibility is to obey, and not figure out if it fits my understanding.
Throughout Scripture, we see that obedience often comes before understanding. Abraham went without knowing where he was going, Noah built before the rain came, and Peter stepped out of the boat before he knew the outcome.
Just as physical pregnancy has a gestation period, God-given dreams often require a season of waiting before they are brought forth. During that waiting season, God is producing growth, preparation, character, and trust.
A mother doesn’t rush a pregnancy because she understands that growth takes time. She doesn’t demand the baby arrive before it is fully developed. She trusts the process.
Likewise, we cannot rush God’s preparation process. What He is developing in us during the waiting season is often just as important as what He is preparing us to do. The waiting season is not wasted time. It is often where God strengthens our faith, deepens our dependence on Him, and equips us for what lies ahead.
The baby develops in secret long before the world sees birth. Likewise, God often develops His plans within us long before others see the results.
If God has placed something inside of you, don’t become discouraged because others can’t see it yet. Not everything God is growing is meant to be visible in the early stages.
I’ve also learned that God doesn’t always tell us to announce everything He is doing. Births need time to develop, prayer to sustain them, and protection while they grow. Mary carried Jesus long before the world knew who He was. God often does His greatest work in the hidden places.
Perhaps God has planted something inside you that has not yet come to fruition. Maybe it’s a ministry, a story for a book, a location for a new business, or a melody just waiting for the exact words to be written in your heart.
Don’t despise the waiting season.
Galatians 6:9 encourages us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Notice those words: at the proper time. Not our time. God’s time.
Habakkuk 2:3 says, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time… Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come.”
Waiting does not mean God is absent, has forgotten you, or that the dream has died. Sometimes the waiting season is the very place where God is doing His greatest work.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Even the seasons that seem confusing are being woven into His greater plan.
If God has placed something inside of you, nurture it. Feed it with God’s Word. Pray over it. Walk in obedience. Trust the process.
And when God says go, don’t hesitate.
Because the God who planted the dream is also faithful to bring it forth.
Philippians 1:6 reminds us to be “confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Never underestimate the power of God or His calling on your life.
What He starts, He finishes.
And just maybe, God is preparing to bring forth something new through you.