Sometimes life gets so quiet that you start to wonder if God has forgotten about you. The prayers feel like they’re bouncing off the ceiling. The promise hasn’t shown up yet. And from where you’re standing, nothing seems to be moving.

But silence is not the same as stillness. And stillness is not the same as stopped.

God is still working.

John 5:17 gives us a glimpse into how God operates — Jesus said, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.”

Always. Not sometimes. Not when it’s convenient. Always.

The problem is we’ve conditioned ourselves to only trust what we can see. We want visible progress. We want timelines and updates and confirmation that something is actually happening. But faith doesn’t work that way. Faith says God is moving even when I can’t see it.

Think about a seed in the ground. You plant it, cover it with dirt, water it — and then nothing. From the outside, it looks like absolutely nothing is happening. But underground, in the dark, in the hidden place — life is forming. Roots are growing. Something is pushing toward the surface.

Your season of waiting is your season of underground growth.

God is doing something in you that has to happen before He can do something through you. The character. The patience. The faith that only gets built in the waiting room. None of that is wasted. All of it is preparation.

So don’t give up on the promise just because you can’t see the progress. The same God who spoke it is the same God who’s working it out right now.

He hasn’t forgotten. He hasn’t changed His mind. He hasn’t moved on.

God is still working. And what He starts — He always finishes.

-Terrence Burton