There are times He looked at me in disbelief. His vibe was, “Your sermons better get better if you are going to step into that dream.” I could tell he thought my youthful positivity had caused me to lose touch with practicality.
The good news is, when God gives you a promise, and you believe, but the longer the season lasts, the less sense it seems to make. If you feel the tension between what God said and what you see, you’re not alone.
Receiving God’s promise requires something from us: we must become convinced that God is still working even when the facts seem to say otherwise. Real faith is choosing to trust God’s goodness before we see the promise fulfilled.
I remember wrestling with this when I first started preaching. I questioned why God called me into ministry. I didn’t come from a family of preachers. I wasn’t the obvious choice. But 1 Corinthians 1 says God uses the people others overlook. That gave me understanding.
I didn’t get where I am overnight.
Once, after guest preaching, a deacon took me to lunch. He asked me, “What do you think God is going to accomplish with your life?” I described what I am doing today.
God promises to help us grow into the dreams He’s placed inside us.
I’m thankful God delights in showing what He can do through ordinary people who simply trust Him.
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that faith matters to God. Where there’s no faith, there’s no reward of God’s promise. We can miss out on His promise unfolding in our lives.
Think about Abraham. God promised that he would become the father of many nations when he was already 75 years old. Humanly speaking, that made no sense. Romans 4 says Abraham recognized that his body was “as good as dead,” yet he still believed God. For 25 years, he waited. That’s a long time believing for something that looked impossible. But at 100 years old, Abraham held Isaac in his arms.
What promise has God placed in your heart? What dream or calling keeps resurfacing despite circumstances trying to silence it? Can you have faith and trust that God will help you get there?
Faith refuses to let discouragement have the final word. It refuses negative thinking, confusion, and hopelessness. Instead, it trusts God’s grace and power. Abraham couldn’t rely on his own strength; he had to rely completely on God. Maybe that’s exactly where God wants you too.
It’s not about what you can do for yourself. It’s about what God has promised to do for you—and that is far more than you could ever imagine.
