The Holy Pause: Why Good Ideas Still Require God’s Timing
Hi Friend,
I pray this letter meets you full of hope for the Christmas season and full of anticipation for the New Year. As the year comes to a close, have you started sensing that familiar pull to begin planning for 2026? I have. As a classic type-A personality, my mind naturally drifts toward planning ahead—blocking off dates, organizing goals, and aligning my desires with each quarter. But while being a planner has often served me well, it’s also an area in my walk where I find myself continually surrendering and asking God for help.
With planning in the air, my first instinct was to evaluate my desires for the upcoming year and begin crafting strategies for them. After all, my desires seem holy—they involve serving, growing in faith, and developing in character. Surely these are things God wants me to focus on…or so I thought. Let me invite you into a recent lesson God so gently walked me through.
My heart has always been drawn to discipling women and helping them grow in their faith. It’s the place where my passion comes alive. So naturally, the next “brilliant idea” was to create a discipleship group for the ladies who have asked me to walk with them—complete with curriculum, structure, and a program designed to help them follow Jesus confidently. Surely this was good!
So I began building it. The teacher in me made sure every learning style was included—visual, auditory, reflective, interactive. Until, a few weeks before launch, I began to sense a prompting: Pause.
Excuse me, pause what? That was the last thing I wanted to do. So I took it to prayer to ensure it was the Lord speaking. And sure enough…it was.
God gently reminded me of the season He was leading me into—a season of retiring from my 9–5 and being more present at home. Only two months earlier, my therapist and I agreed that I would not commit to anything new until I had lived in my new rhythm for at least two months so I could discern my true capacity.
Wow. How did I forget that? My desire to do a “good thing” had completely overshadowed the instructions of the Lord.
So I want to share three safeguards the Holy Spirit led me to implement for every decision that requires my time. I pray these are helpful for you too:
1. Pray First
As simple as it sounds, prayer is often the step we skip. Invite God into your desires and give Him space to respond—through His Word, His Spirit, and His people. Ask Him not only about the desire, but also about the timing.
2. Invite Your Board of Trustees
Identify 2–3 trusted people who know God, know you, and are walking closely with you. Allow them to speak into your decisions. They often see what you overlook—your spiritual, mental, and physical capacity—and can remind you of what God has already spoken.
3. Be Willing to Obey
No matter how disappointing the answer may be, obey. God knows seasons and timing better than we ever could. He knows when something will be fruitful and when you are truly ready to enter into it. He will not withhold anything good from you.
As I gave God more space to speak, He made it clear: my timing was not His. I could continue to develop the discipleship program, but I was not to release it until He gave the green light. And He reminded me that I won’t have to struggle to discern it—He will make it unmistakably clear.
Resting in that has given me such peace. Because alignment with God is infinitely sweeter than operating outside His timing.