Preparation Doesn't Always Mean It's Time to Move
There are seasons when you can feel something changing.
Your priorities begin to shift. Your prayers become more intentional. Things that once felt comfortable don't feel quite as comfortable anymore. You may not know exactly what God is doing, but you sense that He is doing something.
And when we begin recognizing those changes, it's easy to assume they mean one thing:
It's time to move.
But what if God isn't telling you to move yet?
What if He's preparing you?
There is a difference.
Realign
Sometimes before God changes where we are, He changes how we are living where we are.
Realignment means putting God at the center—not only during morning prayer, while reading Scripture, or on Sunday, but throughout the entire day.
We begin asking different questions.
God, should I do this?
God, how should I respond?
God, is this opportunity for me?
God, am I moving because You told me to move, or because I'm tired of where I am?
Realignment is moving from asking God to bless the plans we've already made to asking Him what He wants before we make them.
Sometimes the first sign of a new season isn't a new opportunity.
It's a new desire to hear God more clearly.
Renew
We often pray for God to change our circumstances.
Change the job.
Change the relationship.
Open the door.
Send the opportunity.
But sometimes God begins His work somewhere much closer.
In us.
Romans 12:2 reminds us that transformation happens through the renewing of our minds.
There may be thinking that cannot follow us into the next season—fear, insecurity, doubt, the need for approval, or the belief that we aren't enough.
Preparation isn't always about learning a new skill or making a new plan.
Sometimes preparation means learning to think differently.
Respond differently.
See yourself differently.
Trust God differently.
Before God changes what is around us, He may be changing what is happening within us.
Prepare
Preparation can be difficult because it doesn't always look like progress.
You're learning.
You're growing.
You're healing.
You're praying differently.
You're getting things in order.
You know something is happening, but you still haven't moved.
That's okay.
Preparation is still progress.
The important thing is learning not to confuse destination with timing.
You can be right about where God is taking you and still be wrong about when it's time to go.
There may still be something God wants to teach you where you are. There may be wisdom you need, healing that still needs to happen, something you need to finish, or perhaps God simply hasn't said, Go.
Preparation and permission are not the same thing.
Preparation says: Get ready.
Permission says: Go.
And sometimes there is a season between the two.
Don't rush through it.
Keep praying.
Keep preparing.
Keep listening.
Keep God involved in the process.
Waiting for His timing isn't a lack of faith. Sometimes waiting is evidence of faith because you're trusting Him enough not to move simply because you can.
A Final Thought
Maybe this season isn't asking you to make a dramatic move.
Maybe it's asking you to become ready.
Realign your life so God isn't simply part of your day but at the center of it.
Renew your mind so old thoughts don't have authority over the person you're becoming.
Prepare for what's ahead without assuming preparation means it's time to move.
You don't have to figure out the entire plan today.
Stay close enough to God to recognize the next instruction.
And when the time comes to move, you won't have to force the moment or convince yourself that it's time.
Until then, don't despise the season you're in.
God may not be telling you to leave yet.
He may simply be making you ready for where you're going.
