There are seasons in leadership when you don’t need more advice.
You need reassurance.
Because you’re doing what you know to do.
You’re showing up.
You’re praying.
You’re leading.
You’re making the best decisions you can with the information you have.
And still… you’re waiting for answers and outcomes that you desperately need. And these are things that you cannot control or force, nor should you for that matter. And as you wrestle with all of it, thoughts roll around in your brain:
What if this doesn’t work out?
What if I’ve missed something?
What if ____________ happens?
Waiting can feel so…vulnerable.
It can feel like exposure.
At times, it can even feel like failure if you let your mind go to fearful and dark places.
But there is a deeper truth we have to anchor ourselves to, and that is that God’s timing is not reactive. It is intentional.
He is not scrambling to fix what you’re facing.
He is not late in responding to your situation.
He is not trying to catch up to what’s happening in your life.
He is already there, in the future — waiting to show you around. And sometimes, if we look closely, we can actually see His timing at work.
God is already there
Recently, I walked into a situation I did not see coming. It was completely unexpected and heartbreaking. It was the kind of thing that immediately reminds you how little control you actually have. But what stood out to me wasn’t just the situation—it was what God had already done before it ever happened.
The night before this unfolded, someone had reached out to me. At the time, it felt normal. Nothing unusual. Just an invitation to connect. But a few days later, I felt the Lord prompt me, “Go back and look at your texts. Look at the first moment they reached out to you.” So I did. And when I saw the date, and time, I just sat there. And I wept as I realized the incredible timing of God.
As if He had said, “This is about to unfold in Deanna’s life—and I’m sending help ahead of time, with the exact person she needs in this moment, in this season.”
He knew.
He saw.
And He moved before I ever felt the impact of it.
That doesn’t mean that going through this situation isn’t still really hard. It is. He just gave me someone to go through it with me that is exactly who He knew I needed. Someone who has been where I am, and understands and has seasoned wisdom to offer.
That is the nature of God’s timing.
It is not late.
It is strategic.
And His timing isn’t only seen in preparation—it’s also seen in provision.
Double in 24 hours
A few months ago, I had set aside some cash for a specific purpose and tucked it into a makeup bag in my purse.
I carried it with me, not thinking much about it.
Then one day, I became aware of someone with a need. And I felt that quiet but unmistakable prompting of the Lord: Give it. Give ALL of it.
I’ve often said this, and it’s still true: I have never regretted a time I’ve given—only the times I haven’t. So I gave everything that was in that bag. No hesitation.
Within 24 hours, I was preaching and praying for people at the altar. I was embracing a woman as I prayed for her, speaking what I felt the Lord was saying, my hand firmly on her shoulder. In the middle of that moment, someone came by and placed something into my hand and walked away.
I didn’t think much of it at first. People often hand me notes, names to pray for, things like that.
But when I finished praying and looked down…it was cash.
A significant amount.
Exactly double what I had given away.
I didn’t orchestrate that.
I didn’t announce what I had done.
There was no natural explanation for it.
Only this:
God’s timing is impeccable, and now I have more than enough to meet the need I was saving for.
Scripture is full of people who lived in the tension between promise and fulfillment.
David was anointed long before he was appointed.
Joseph carried a dream long before he saw it realized.
Even Jesus lived thirty years in obscurity before stepping into public ministry.
None of that time was wasted.
It was strategic.
Timing isn’t just about delay.
Sometimes it’s about development, protection, and positioning.
Development…because there are things formed in you in the waiting that cannot be formed any other way.
Protection…because what feels like a delay may actually be God keeping you from stepping into something too soon.
Positioning…because God sees what you cannot see, and He is aligning people, places, and provision in ways you don’t yet understand.
We often measure timing by our comfort. God measures timing by readiness.
And those are not the same thing.
I wish I could say I was in an odd season right now where I don’t have all the answers. But the truth is, especially the more God expands my influence, the greater the difficulties are and the more things unfold that I cannot control, rush, or resolve overnight.
But I am being reminded, sometimes in deeply personal ways, that God has me.
Not just when things make sense.
Not just when outcomes are clear.
But right here, through everything from uncertainty, to crushing losses, to complex problems to solve.
If you are in a waiting season, this is what I want you to know:
You are not being punished.
You are not abandoned.
You are not at the mercy of your circumstances.
You are being held, prepared, and positioned by a God who does not miss timing.
He sees what you cannot see.
He knows what you do not know.
And He is not late.
He is strategic.
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