Be Expectant

As you wait, for whatever it is that you’re waiting for. Prepare yourself. Be expectant. Have faith. Better days ARE ahead, so prepare for them now, in your waiting season.

Growing up as an athlete, I didn’t always love working out. What I loved was- the sport, it’s competitive nature, the game, impacting a team and the challenge. But, like any great athlete, you have to prepare your mind, body and team before a big game. Pre-season is always an important time for any athlete, you are preparing for the rough and competitive days that are ahead. You work together with your teammates and coaches- making sure you’re all in agreement with plays, positions and motives. It’s just what you do when you want to win. You prep before it’s time to play. It is in that time where you figure out what works, what doesn’t and what needs improvement. You condition your body to out last the regular scheduled length of a game, in preparation that there may be overtime. You have back up plans and players, incase there are injuries. You prep for all angles to make sure you achieve the over all goal, to WIN!

It is with that same mindset- we should seek each day. Whether or not you have received your biggest dreams or not, we as living creatures- always continue to dream bigger and bigger, it’s what we naturally do. In that waiting period/season- before you see your heart’s deepest desires, dreams and visions be birthed, we have to keep the hope alive and prep our hearts and minds before we see it in the natural.

Butterflies are one of my favorite insects. It is completely fascinating how they evolve. From a crawling hairy ugly caterpillar-to a cocoon- and then BAM, it’s transformed into a magnificent flying butterfly. Visualize this with me for a second, imagine if caterpillars could speak! I wonder, if we could communicate and ask them if they knew that by them resting in the stillness of it’s cocoon, that their furry little lives were going to completely change- not only in their appearance, but they’d physically become stronger, more beautifully unique AND able to do far greater than they ever could before, such as….. FLY!! I guarantee you, that caterpillar would not believe a word you said if you shared with them ALL that was to come- after it’s waiting season in the cocoon.

It’s time to position ourselves to be eagerly excited for what’s to come. When our faith is in Jesus Christ, nothing is impossible for Him, that includes our BIG dreams! (Who do you think placed that dream in your heart in the first place??) It’s not just good news- it’s GREAT News!! In our season of waiting for whatever it is that we may be praying for, believing for, we must keep our hope alive and prepare ourselves for what’s to come. Who knows, it may just be a butterfly size outcome. Our blooming day is coming, but first we must be groomed. (Yea, you might want to write that one down for a rainy day to ponder on.)

I recently heard this incredible sermon that moved my spirit with such excitement, that I want to share it with all of you! You see, in the Bible, David was a King. He was a ruler and one who gained such high authority- but, he wasn’t born a King. He heard from God that he one day would gain such authority, but he was not going to receive such a title without being groomed in obedience and humbleness. Sometimes, we step into the realm of our calling before it’s time to act in our calling- to see things from a different perspective, much like a caterpillar. To roam the ground as a servant to others in preparation of what one day will be. When we launch into being a butterfly, we may resort back to the same grounds where we once crawled on, but now our view- our perspective- is on higher grounds, so we are able to serve as a greater ruler, leader or even King. (Note to self- Don’t despise the days of small beginnings!)

In this sermon, the preacher went back to the days of when David was in the fields, being obedient to his father and serving others and doing his job. It was there, that someone was SENT for him to be brought into the palace. Which ultimately lead him into the doors of being a King in the years to come. You see, David didn’t send out his resume for the role, but when he was being obedient to what he was told to do in that moment, the reward chased after him. David could have never made the connections work together to gain him the role of King, but because God is gracious and the Creator of all things, God parted the seas (so to speak) for David to be seen when the time was right. David bloomed into being a butterfly when it was God’s TIME for him. We have to remember to, “trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding” Proverbs 3:5

So often in life, we ask and pray for big things to come our way. Things we know in our spirit are going to come, whether God spoke into your heart that it would come or there is just a tick in your spirit- saying it is coming. We have to remember to thank God, that He gives us blessings in HIS timing and not ours. Imagine trying to drive when we were first out of the womb! Silly right? I believe there are often prayers or requests we ask God for that are far too early on in the journey to receive and we should always remember to thank Him in our waiting season for not giving us what we want, because sometimes that very thing that was meant to bless us- may harm us if we gain it before we are “ready” for it. There are things to learn and be molded before being able to manage such a big size dream. Just like the caterpillar, it needed to form it’s wings before it could fly. If you are waiting, continue to prepare your mind for what is unseen, and revive your soul with excitement on what’s to come. Any day now you could be unraveling out of your cocoon to gain your wings and fly higher heights. Stay patient, stay humble and try to gain all there is to gain in the waiting season before you launch for take off. I’m excited for all of you and praying for your God size dreams. See below for the sermon clip- I pray it blesses you and encourages you!