Have you ever wondered how in the world you can carry something if you haven’t yet planned for it and it catches you off guard? You may find yourself saying, “Oh man I’m not ready for that yet,” or “Whew Lord, you sure you want me to do that? Like now?” I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful that God knows what is best for me. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. However, His timing is not our timing and that means that sometimes we may be caught off guard giving ‘be ye ready at all times’ a brand new meaning. Walk with me here. God impregnates you with a vision, a gift, a dream and your response is that you’re not ready. In God’s timing, He gives it to you to carry anyway. You then have to make the conscious decision of whether you’re going to abort what God has given you or if you’re going to carry it to fruition. Let’s say you put on your “grown up pants” and decide even though you aren’t ready, you’re going to trust God. YOU STILL HAVE TO CARRY IT. How you decide to carry what God has impregnated you with directly affects the wholeness of its outcome. You have to take the time to nurture what you’re carrying and you have to be mindful of what you’re feeding it. What are you speaking into your vision? What are you feeding your dream?
Many times we birth ideas and create things and they don’t seem to come out quite like what we imagined. In some way, we consider ourselves to have fallen short. Oftentimes, all it takes is a little self-reflection to see that we didn’t feed or nurture that creation in the best way that we should have to render the best whole outcome. This can be due to denial, lack of education, or even just not knowing that you’re in the carrying stage. Daily, you have to seek what God wants from you. Daily, you have to have the wisdom to know what’s yours to divinely carry and what you just picked up along the way. Daily, you have to prepare yourself to receive from God, allowing Him to truly have His way. I hear my Type A people cringing a little bit. “You mean to tell me, it all won’t be planned?” It won’t always come with a warning so I can prepare for it?” That’s exactly what I’m saying. God is very intentional about His plans for us because they can directly affect the people around us, and that may not come at the time we expect. Romans 8:27 & 28 in the NLT reads, “ And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” This snippet of scripture gives me so much encouragement to know that even when I feel in my spirit and my heart that I’m not ready to carry what God has impregnated me with, He knows that and He will affirm me that my carrying is not in vain. He will strengthen us to carry what He has placed on the inside of us. We just have to make the decision to let God be God. Our job is to continuously speak life into the gift, vision, dream that God has placed in us. If we are diligent in our carrying, we will see the fullness of what God wants for us. If we surrender during the birthing phase for God to have His way, we will understand and appreciate how what we’ve birthed works together for our good and for the good of those around us. Wow! What a blessing and privilege it is to carry something so precious that only God can place within us. I’m blown away at how much God cares for me to trust me during the carrying phase. Can you be trusted during the carrying phase? Are you rushing your carrying phase and wanting it to be over already? Do you find yourself just not wanting to carry at all? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I encourage you to go to your Father and voice your concerns to Him and lay them at His feet. He knows your heart and your spirit and He will equip you to carry what He places inside of you. Communicate with your Father and carry on.
Thank you for joining me today. Please know that I am praying for your physical and spiritual fertility asking God to give you the desires of your heart and to prepare you for what you may not be expecting. God is sovereign and faithful. May His peace fall upon you and may you carry your purpose and your dreams to full fruition as desired by God. Blessings to you and yours from me and mine.
-Natalie Williams