I should probably end the suspense here by stating that this is not a blog post to announce a baby. Soo sorry if that’s what you were…expecting. The word expecting is typically used when there is a belief that something is about to take place. How, what, and when it should/will happen can be defined as expectation.

Earlier in the year, I remember going on a run in my neighborhood. As I was passing by one of the houses down the street, I noticed trees planted along the side of their fence. Running by the trees, I saw that they were labeled by what they were. While it was the later days of January, and the trees were nothing but fragile branches, I knew exactly what kind of fruit each would bare. God gave me the word expect in that moment. The owners of the home planted these trees in a form that did not look like what they were called. It was knowing what was inside the seed they were planting that created the expectation on what they would receive. I’m not a gardener, but my grandfather is. Every year I remember him planting seeds in the ground just to cover them up and see nothing happen. It was not until the spring that the fruits of his labor were noticed. Looking at the ground in the winter months you wouldn’t have expected the garden you see today. Yet, he knew exactly how it would look, when the growth would take place, and what they would be.

Ci, why are you going on about planting trees? I’m glad you asked!

I believe God wants us to get out of just waiting for things to happen, but to start expecting. Expecting is waiting with purpose. You move differently when you know that something is coming rather than hoping or thinking it will. God has called you and spoken a promise over your life. The question now is, are you just waiting for it or expecting it? My neighbors did not just plant those trees and then wait. They watered them, maintained them, and planted them in a place where they would receive the nutrients needed. In order for the tree to meet their expectations, they had to put in work. If God is telling us to expect, there is work we need to put in. He has placed a seed to write the book, to start the podcast, create the movement. It is when we wait without working, that we start to question the seed God planted. God spoke that word over you because what is needed to bring it forth, is in you.

Seeds are underestimated. They are small and have the potential to be nothing if not cared for properly. It requires preparation, time (process), and placement in order for it to fulfill its purpose. It is up to the individual who is caring for the seed whether or not they will take the steps to completion. We too have a decision to make. Will we do what is necessary to walk out all that we were created to be? Or, will we mismanage the seed and live life just waiting for God to do something.

Preparation. Process. Placement.

Process.

This probably isn’t your story, but have you ever gone online shopping and the moment you clicked purchase you head straight to your email to track your order? Just me? Okay. I mean sis, I am ready to click “track order” as soon as the confirmation email is sent. Every time, I just receive the message, “your order is being processed”. I believe this is how we treat the promises of God. We want the prosperous plan, the exceeding and abundant blessing, the riches, and the glory, the moment we order for it. Let’s go back to the seed. There is a process of growth that takes place under the soil so that the seed will become what it was created to be. The process is the protection of your purpose. God has placed something unique in you. You have wondered why you are in this place in this season, but I feel the Lord is saying the process is so that you do not live in a premature version of your purpose/promise. Being premature means to arrive before its intended time. Processes are not meant to prolong what God is doing in your life, they are to prepare you for it.

Preparation.

As I think of a new mother that is expecting a baby, preparation is the first word that comes to mind. The room, the clothes, baby wipes, diapers, and a plethora of items are all bought months before all in preparation for the baby’s arrival. Or, we can think of the athletes that qualify for the Olympics. They spend months and even years training, working out, and sticking to strict diets all to prepare for the event. You can tell how much someone cares for something by how they prepare for it. I have been convicted in this lately. How often do we pray for something but don’t even prepare to receive it. Your goal is to buy a house this year, but you have spent all your savings on trips because you’re “back outside”. You asked God to give you a vision, but don’t have anything to write it out when He does. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Could it be you aren’t preparing because you are not expecting it to happen. Time plays such a huge role in preparing. Let’s be honest, if we prepare for months and do not see the results we wanted, we give up. I think about Noah in Genesis. What we fail to realize is God did not tell him to build an ark because He was getting ready to flood the Earth and everything took place the next month. It took FORTY YEARS to build the ark. Imagine if he would have stopped preparing. Noah was expecting God to do exactly what he said. Therefore, nothing or no one could stop his preparation. What is preparation in one season is provision in another. Not only was the ark provision for Noah Himself, but his family as well. How you prepare now will effect the generations attached to you.

Placement.

I would like to think this might be the most important step to working the seed God has placed. What kind of soil are you sis? Can what God is trying to give you in this season even take root? Placement is a soul check and a reality check. Who and what are you surrounding yourself with? There is a popular saying that can go two ways. “They were at the right place at the right time” or the opposite. Please do not miss what it is that God is trying to bless you with because you are not in the right place to receive it. Perhaps you’re like me, and the place you are in isn’t bad but it isn’t where you thought you would be. That place may not look like the promise, but start expecting in your now and watch what God does. I received this ‘expect’ revelation, but being planted is the action I had to take to fully receive what God was saying. I became so caught up in running to what I thought the Lord had called me to do (and where I thought he was calling me to do it), I had not allowed time for what He had placed in me to become what He called it to be. Your seed can not take root if you are always running. I believed there was another place I needed to be in order for God to start blessing me. He quickly revealed that he had me planted in this place for a purpose.

In closing, it is my hope that this post begins to shift your faith. I pray that you begin to expect again. May this be a reminder that the God who spoke it is the same God to see it all the way through. No longer will we pray and not prepare for what we are asking for. Here’s to putting in work with our faith, and seeing God match our energy.

Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all you options open

James 1:6-7 (MSG)

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my request to you and wait expectantly.

Psalm 5:3

Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Ephesians 3:20