One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Isaiah 40:31:

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

I've read that verse for years, but recently I found myself asking a different question.

What is God actually doing while I wait?

We know He's working. We say it all the time. We remind one another that God is "moving behind the scenes." But what does that actually look like? If you're anything like me, waiting feels uncomfortable because I like progress. I like movement. I like seeing evidence that something is changing. Waiting can feel like standing still while life keeps moving around you. Yet, heaven doesn't measure progress the way we do.

Many of the most important things in life happen where no one can see them. Seeds spend months underground before anyone notices a sprout. Bread rises before it's baked. Concrete cures before it carries weight. Muscles need to recover before they become stronger. Even a child spends months growing in the hiddenness of the womb before entering the world. Growth often happens beneath the surface.

Why should our spiritual lives be any different?

One of the greatest misunderstandings we have as believers is assuming that waiting means nothing is happening. But Scripture paints a different picture. Waiting isn't inactivity. Waiting is preparation.

David learned to become a king long before he ever wore a crown. God trained his courage while tending sheep and fighting lions. Long before crowds sang his praises, God was teaching him to worship alone in the fields.

Joseph learned leadership in a prison before leading a nation. Every skill he would eventually need in Egypt was quietly developed while he was confined in a place he never wanted to be.

Moses learned how to shepherd sheep before shepherding God's people through the wilderness. God removed Egypt from Moses before asking Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Even Jesus spent far more years preparing than publicly ministering. Before His ministry was visible, His life was being formed in obscurity.

The pattern is impossible to miss. God prepares before He promotes. Sometimes while we're asking God to change our circumstances, He's quietly changing us. Maybe He's teaching trust or developing humility. Maybe He's strengthening patience or building faithfulness before the responsibility that lies ahead. Or maybe He's stripping away the titles we've attached to ourselves until we discover that our identity was never found in what we do—but in whose we are.

Toward the end of my study, one question settled into my heart.

If nothing changes...is Jesus still enough?

That's a difficult question. Perhaps that's exactly why waiting exists. Not to punish us or delay us. But, to reveal what truly anchors our hearts. 

Family, if you're in a waiting season today, don't assume God has stopped working simply because you can't see Him moving. Some of God's greatest work happens underground. The roots deepen before the branches grow. The character develops before the calling expands. The heart is prepared before the assignment arrives. Waiting is not evidence that God is absent. Waiting is often evidence that God is working beneath the surface.

Trust the process.

God isn't finished yet.

~ Selah