Recovering Your Cutting Edge

Posted on July 31, 2026 by growintheword

Bishop Craig L. Oliver

07.26.26

Mt. Zion Nashville

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 6:1–7

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us.

Let us go to the Jordan, and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there.” And he answered, “Go.”

Then one of them said, “Be pleased to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”

So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.”

So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick, and threw it in there, and made the iron float.

Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

— 2 Kings 6:1–7

I.                Introduction

Prayer

Oh God, we honor You, we thank You, and we praise You for the blessed privilege that is ours to gather in this sacred space, this sanctuary. We thank You for Your presence, we thank You for Your people, we thank You for Your power. And even now, Father, as I stand, I ask that You would anoint me afresh for the assignment at hand. Grant clarity of speech and thought. I pray for the receptivity of hearts and minds. May I preach with authority, accuracy, and authenticity. I give You praise and glory, in Jesus’ name.

And all those who agree with this prayer, in one accord said, “Amen.”

Family, see me today. There’s a kind of death that has no funeral. It doesn’t announce itself. It does not appear in the obituary. It does not arrive with sirens; it does not interrupt the schedule. It simply happens quietly, patiently, insidiously — one prayer skipped after another, one slow drift into complacency, passivity, and even inactivity, one swallowed conviction, one numbed emotion at a time — until a person who once burned with excitement and enthusiasm is standing in the same seat, singing the same songs, holding the same title, and yet something essential has quietly gone missing. Not weakened. Not worn. Lost.

I submit and suggest that one of the greatest dangers in life is not open rebellion — it is unnoticed lostness. People rarely wake up one morning completely ineffective. More often, they gradually lose their edge. They don’t even notice it until they go to chop down a tree and the tree is no longer falling. They still attend church. They still hold their position. They still perform with precision. They still carry their titles. But somewhere along the journey, without a single dramatic moment, they come to the point where the very thing that once made their life cut with meaning and impact slips beneath the surface and disappears. In other words, they have lost their cutting edge.

And I suspect there is someone in this auditorium — if truth be told, if you take personal inventory and look introspectively at your life — there have been seasons, if not now, in which you have lost your cutting edge.

It looks like the worship leader who sings in the worship setting, lifting hands, singing with perfect pitch, and yet still fails to feel the presence of the God to whom they’re singing. It’s like the servant leader who shows up early every morning, every Sunday, and yet, though they’re still serving, they serve without gladness. It’s like the believer who at one time, in former days, would open their Bible early in the morning out of discipline, out of hunger, out of a longing to encounter God — but they no longer have that same passion or thirst, because they have lost their cutting edge.

It doesn’t just happen within the confines of church. It is quite candidly a human problem. Every person, regardless of their field — if you’re not careful, you can be honestly engaged in your labor and still end up losing your love. You run the risk of losing your cutting edge. It happens from the pulpit to the prayer closet. It happens in the ordinary, regular grind of Monday life — instead of really living, you can end up losing your cutting edge.

It can happen to couples — couples who share the same address, sleep in the same bed, eat at the same table, even show up to church driving in the same car and sitting by each other on the pew — but in all of that proximity, you can still have lost your cutting edge, because there’s no real conversation. And if there is conversation, it’s purely based on logistics.

It’s like the teacher who is dreading the next several weeks right now, sitting there saying, “There was a time I really enjoyed teaching. There was a time I looked forward to the students showing up.” But this new group of students is unlike any you’ve seen, and if truth be told, you’ve replaced the passion of teaching by focusing on the clock and just trying to get through the curriculum, because you’ve lost your cutting edge.

It’s the college student who shows up to every class but has lost their intellectual curiosity — who no longer wants to study into the wee hours of the night because they were once hungry for knowledge and thirsty for insight. It’s the entrepreneur who used to stay up with dreams, excited about the possibility of building and expanding, but now finds themselves dreading having to go to work, because they’ve lost their cutting edge.

I don’t care what setting, what context you find yourself in — every person, from judge to preacher, can, if truth be told, lose their cutting edge. It happens in the church house and in your house, from the classroom to the boardroom, from the ball field to the family room. It happens in every area of life in a very patient, inconspicuous, insidious way — you can end up losing your cutting edge and not even know it.

Paul writes to his understudy and protégé in ministry, Timothy, and says, “Be careful,” because there are those in the church who can have the form of godliness but deny its power. They have a handle with no head. They are swinging but not striking. They’re chopping but not conquering, because they have lost their cutting edge.

I want to submit to you that as we engage in a theological excavation of 2 Kings chapter 6, verses 1 through 7, it provides a picture for our consideration of a person who had lost their cutting edge.

Let me tell you the story. It happens in the days of the life of Elisha. He has what is known as the school of the prophets — his theological seminary — and it’s growing to the extent that their current gathering place is no longer convenient, no longer sufficient because of the increased number of students. It’s a growing school; they have no more capacity to accommodate more people, and so they’re having to move to a new site. Everybody say, “It’s growing.” So they decide to go to the neighboring forest, to chop down some timber, to chop down some trees, so that from the wood they could begin a building program to build a larger space to accommodate the student body.

One of the sons of the prophets, among the others out there in the forest, is swinging with all of his might, chopping down this particular tree. All around him he hears other trees falling, and he hears the other sons of the prophets yelling out “Timber! Timber!” as their trees fall to the ground — but the tree he’s chopping is still standing. And he chops, and all of a sudden the axe flies off the handle, and he is standing there by a tree that has not fallen, holding a handle with no head.

Did you catch that, church? He’s in the forest to chop down trees, and in the moment of chopping, the Bible says that on this particular occasion, he swings with all of his might, and as he’s swinging, all of a sudden the axe comes off the handle, and he is standing there at the water’s edge of the Jordan River. The axe head flashes and splashes into the Jordan, and he yells out, “Alas, master, it was borrowed!”

I want to submit to you that he lost his cutting edge. He has a handle but no head. I hear you asking, “What is a cutting edge?” Losing your cutting edge is that quiet separation of your effectiveness from your source — a point where the motion of your life and your work continues, but the power behind that motion has been lost. It’s when you find yourself in a season of growth and activity, where you look successful, but all you have is a handle with no head.

Preacher, all I thought I would do is take the time to pull this passage out of the shadows of biblical obscurity and put a spotlight on it, because I believe it provides some simple but practical points as a roadmap for how we can recover our cutting edge. If you’re interested, say, “Give me some more.” Let me show you very quickly how to recover your cutting edge.

I. The Lamenting of Your Cutting Edge

He yells out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” This young prophet immediately knows something is wrong. He doesn’t pretend. He does not compensate by swinging harder. He does not continue to work with just an empty handle that cannot make him effective. He stops. He cries out. He laments. The key term is that he yelled out “Alas” — and that is not some calm observation, it is a wail. It is a sound that a person makes from deep within, from the recesses of their soul.

This young man did not try to manage his lostness by maintaining his composure, putting up a façade as if he still had it. No — he laments out loud, in front of his master, in front of his peers, without shame, without fear, because he understood — don’t miss this, church — that the first move toward recovery is honesty. Because as long as you’re standing there pretending like you’ve got it, and you’ve actually lost it, you’ll never regain it. You’ve got to stop trying to fake it. You’ve got to stop trying to give the façade that you’ve got it together. You’ve got to learn how to lament.

I know you’re too dignified. I know you’re too composed. But there’s a moment in life when you become desperate enough to get your cutting edge back that you will cry out. And notice what he cried out — he said, “Alas… it was borrowed.” Don’t miss that. It’s one thing to lose something that belongs to you; it’s another thing altogether when somebody has lent something to you and you’ve lost what does not belong to you.

Because truth be told, whatever you have is borrowed. That gift you have is borrowed. That skill you have is borrowed. That talent you have is borrowed. That knowledge you have is borrowed. That power you have is borrowed. That influence you have is borrowed — because every good and perfect gift comes from above. Don’t get so caught up in your resource that you forget your Source, because whoever gave it to you — that’s who it belongs to.

I think that’s a good place to give God praise. Whatever you have is borrowed — at last, it has to be returned. And don’t you miss it — he had to give an account for what he had been trusted to receive as a borrower.

Some of us have an inability to be honest because we’ve adjusted ourselves to a state of denial — if not denial, then rationalization; if not rationalization, then justification — and you’ve reframed the reality of your loss by defining your loss as just “a season.” “I’m just in a season.” No — you’ve lost your cutting edge. “I’m just tired.” No — you’ve lost your cutting edge. “I just lack the excitement I used to have.” No — you’ve lost your cutting edge. And it’s not until you become honest and acknowledge that you’ve lost it — this isn’t just psychological, it’s emotional too — because beneath the surface of that unspoken loss lies grief. Part of the reason you can’t recover what you’ve lost is because you haven’t given yourself permission to grieve it.

You’re still walking around trying to act like you have it together, and all you have is a handle with no head, and you may be fooling the folks around you, but the One who gave you the tool to begin with is looking at you and has made a personal assessment: “She’s got the handle, but she doesn’t have the head.” When was the last time you lamented for real? When was the last time you got honest?

Here’s what intrigues me in the text: it’s the unique context in which the son of the prophet loses his cutting edge. The Bible says the school of the prophets is growing — they’ve run out of space, they need more capacity, they’re expanding the existing facility or building a new one. Here it is: in a season of growth, increase, expansion, a season of scale — that is the season in which they lost their cutting edge. Because most people don’t lose their cutting edge in a season of inactivity — you can’t lose anything if you’re not doing anything. But when you’re busy, when you’re active, in a season of increase, a season of expansion, a season where God is expanding your borders — that is when you’re most vulnerable to losing your cutting edge. It’s not in the season of decline; in the season of decline, you’ve already lost it and nobody wants to talk about it.

I share this because Elizabeth — my church — is a cousin church to Mt. Zion. I feel so much at home at Mt. Zion because Mt. Zion feels like Elizabeth, and I’ve borrowed a lot of wonderful things from Mt. Zion. Here’s an observation: both of our ministries are growing, scaling — but that is exactly the most vulnerable place to be, because when you’re scaling, if you’re not careful, you can lose your cutting edge.

Let me interrogate the text a bit more. It’s not just interesting the context in which he lost his cutting edge — a context of growth — but I have to ask: what caused the axe head to fly off to begin with? How did it come off the handle? I want to use my sanctified imagination here. I believe this young prophet is out there in the forest, close to the Jordan River, chopping down a tree. He’s focused. He’s diligent. He’s working with all intensity — chop, chop, chop, chop — making progress. Then the head flies off the handle and because he’s so focused on the task, he’s not paying attention to the tool.

If you’ve ever chopped wood, you understand: there’s a moment between chops where you have to stop, step back from the tree, flip the axe around, hit the handle down against the ground, and tighten the head back onto the handle — because if you keep doing the task without paying attention to the tool, you will eventually get slippage between the head and the handle.

Some of you have lost connection because you’re doing the task, but you aren’t worshiping. You’re doing the task but you aren’t reading the Bible. You’re doing the task but you aren’t praying. You’re doing the task, but you aren’t going to church. You’re doing the task but you’re not focused on the tool, because you’ve become so self-sufficient, you don’t think you need prayer anymore. You’ve become so smart you don’t think you need to trust God anymore. And so you’ve spent all your time doing the task and haven’t taken any time to maintain the tool, and you’ve lost your cutting edge. Most people who only have a handle and no head are the most cranky, cantankerous, irritable, frustrated people you will ever meet, because they’re out there trying to do it all themselves. But the Bible says, “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.” I need more than just head knowledge. I need more than book knowledge. I need God to do for me what I cannot do for myself. Give me back my cutting edge. I need it to sound like you really need it. I’m lamenting because I’ve lost it. I’ve lost it. But that’s not all — I’m almost there.

II. The Locating of Your Cutting Edge

Forgive me — I apologize for the lineup of these points; I really wanted to share something deep and scholarly, but if you want to recover your cutting edge, you’ve got to lament, and then you’ve got to locate.

The man of God said — Elisha does not ask what kind of axe it was. He does not ask how expensive it was. He doesn’t ask who he borrowed it from — a legitimate question, but not his question. In verse 6, he asks, “Where did it fall?” Not how much. Not who lent it to you. Not what kind it was. He wants to know: do you know where you lost it?

Before restoration can take place, there must be recognition. You cannot recover what you refuse to revisit. I want to submit to you that perhaps the hardest journey in recovering your cutting edge is the journey of revisiting the place where you lost it — going back to the scene, the site, the season, where the separation happened.

This is counterintuitive to the current theology that’s become so popular, where everybody talks about “forgetting those things which are behind, I press forward” — that’s true, that’s biblical, I’m not debating it. But there are moments where God gives us the uncomfortable invitation to go backward before we go forward. Forward begins with backward. I’ve got to go back.

Can’t you hear the conversation between Elisha and the young prophet? “Elisha, this tree — I was right here, working, and all of a sudden it flew off, out there somewhere, because I saw it splash and I saw the ripples on the surface of the Jordan River. It’s out there somewhere.” I think that’s interesting, because the head is too far for him to reach it — it’s in the Jordan River, a mighty river, and when the axe, made of iron, hit the surface, it descended by gravity all the way to the bottom of the river. Once it hit the sediment, it got buried.

That’s what has caused some of you to be so frustrated and irritated — you’ve lost your cutting edge and you don’t know where to find it. Can I ask you a simple question: When did you lose it? Did it fall off somewhere along the way, where you normalized just being a handle-holder — you looked like you had the cutting edge, but you didn’t? Or is it not so much where you lost it, but who you lost it with? Who did you let into your life who eclipsed your passion and caused the separation between you and your assignment?

That’s no different than the inquiry to Adam in Genesis 3:9 — “Where are you?” It wasn’t that God had lost track of where Adam was; it was that God wanted Adam to see how far he had drifted. “Where are you?” — the implication is, “Adam, we always meet here, at this time, in this place, to have fellowship. Where are you now? Where did you lose it? Was it over there, by that tree?” — and I say “tree” because the Bible doesn’t actually say it was an apple; it could have been any tree — but it was a tree where he lost communion, where he lost fellowship.

God always asks us to return to the scene, the setting, the site where we first lost it. It’s uncomfortable, but God is not trying to traumatize us — He’s trying to restore us. But God says, “I can’t restore you if you won’t go back and first acknowledge that you’ve lost it, and identify where you lost it.” And if you’re having a hard time identifying where you lost it, here’s a simple prayer you ought to pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” In other words — God, show me where I lost it. I promise you, if you give God a real invitation to help you identify the setting, the season where you lost it, He knows exactly where you were, what you were doing, and who you were doing it with.

Most of us fail to look for the location where we lost it because we have a spirit of avoidance. We don’t want to face it, so we bury it, we deny it — we come to church, we shout, we dance, and we act like we’ve got it, and God says, “None of that is registering with Me.” Every praise is to my God — He says, “I don’t feel anything real in that.”

I’ve got to go — I’ve got a flight to catch — but can I give you a third point? It would be malpractice preaching if I ended right here. Lamenting. Locating. But here’s the shouting point in the text.

III. The Levitating and Navigating of Your Cutting Edge

I’m almost done, for real. What do you mean, “levitating”? It’s right here in the text: he cut off a stick, threw it into the water, and made the iron float — “Pick it up for yourself.” He reached out his hand and took it. That’s shouting material. That’s the crescendo in the symphony of Scripture here in 2 Kings 6. That’s the peak, the apex.

He asks, “Where did it fall?” Elisha takes a stick, throws it into the Jordan, and the Bible says the iron starts floating. Now, you’re sitting there acting like that’s not a miracle — when was the last time you saw a piece of iron float? You ought to be asking, “How did that happen?” My mind cannot explain it, but my heart believes it.

There’s a concept known as redemptive hermeneutics — the art and science of biblical interpretation where you study a passage of the Old Testament looking for types and shadows that point to the appearance of Jesus Christ, because the Old Testament is Jesus concealed, and the New Testament is Jesus revealed. When you look at the Old Testament, you see pictures, shadows, and types of the redemptive and restorative work of Jesus Christ.

Take Adam — he messed it up, and he’s hiding in the garden, because nobody wants to face where they lost it. He hides in avoidance, and he makes himself an apron, covering himself with fig leaves. God says, “That’s not going to work,” and takes it off, and covers him with the skin of an animal, because there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. So the only way to cover Adam’s sin was for an animal to be sacrificed — a picture of what Jesus would do on the cross, dying for the sin of humanity that fell in the garden.

Remember coming out of Egypt? The death angel is passing through Egypt, and the Bible says, “Go get a lamb — not just any lamb, a lamb without blemish. Kill that lamb, take the blood, and put it on the doorposts, because when the death angel passes through, whoever is under the blood will be safe.” That blood on the door is a picture of what Jesus would do, because when you’re covered by the blood, judgment will pass over you.

What about Noah, in the ark? It’s a fresh picture, a shadow of Jesus Christ, because the Old Testament is Jesus concealed and the New Testament is Jesus revealed. Everyone who was in the ark was saved; everyone outside the ark perished — because when you’re in Jesus, you’re safe.

What about Rahab and her scarlet thread in the window? Whoever was behind that thread was safe when judgment came, and her entire family was saved because of the scarlet thread — a picture of Jesus. What about Moses, when the serpents were killing people in the wilderness, and God told him to make a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and lift it up, and everyone who looked at it would live? When Jesus is lifted up on the cross in the New Testament, if you look to Him — if you accept Him — you can live.

That’s the Old Testament concealed and the New Testament revealed. So here it is in 2 Kings 6 — that stick is not just a stick. It’s not just a twig. I submit to you it’s a picture, a foreshadowing, a type of what Jesus would do on the cross. Yes, you lost your cutting edge, but the same power that raises that cutting edge comes from a Man who would die on a tree — and when that stick hit the water, power came from the stick, and the iron head started levitating.

I don’t care how far down you feel, how buried you are — the power of Jesus can lift your life. I’ve got to go — but before I do, there are two miracles in this text. It would be malpractice preaching if all you saw was the head levitating. Miracle one is levitating. Miracle two is navigating — because the head is way out there, and by the principle of trajectory, when it flew off the handle, here’s the shouting part: it comes directly back to the waterline, right in front of the young prophet and Elisha.

And here’s the shouting part in the text: Elisha says, essentially, you’ve got to reach out — you’ve got to get down on your knees to reach it. Why? Because you’ve lost how to get down on your knees. You’ve lost what it means to pray. You’ve lost what it means to worship. You’ve lost what it means to humble yourself. That’s the posture of reclaiming — if you want to get back your marriage, if you want your joy back, if you want your peace back, I don’t need somebody who’s too dignified — I just need somebody who isn’t afraid to get down on their knees right now.

If you want your cutting edge back, you can’t be so dignified. If you want it back, you can’t be so sophisticated. You can’t be so “smart.” You’ve got to be hungry enough, desperate enough, to get back down on your knees. That’s why Andraé Crouch’s song says, “Take me back, take me back, Lord, to the place where I first received my passion.” When you’re on your knees, it hurts a little — there’s a little pressure, a little pain — but that posture is where passion comes from. You want passion, but you don’t want to surrender. You want passion, but you don’t want to suffer. You want passion, but you don’t want to submit.

IV. Posture and Position

Can I give you the last point? Thank you, Bishop Walker — love you, sir — but it’s not just a posture for recovering, it’s also a position. Elisha says, “Now you’re in the right posture, but here’s the position: reach out and grab it.” That means you don’t just surrender — you’ve got to reach. You’ve got to reach out of your comfort zone. He says, “I’ll put it right within reach — right before you — but there’s something you’re going to have to do.” He could bring it all the way to you, but at some point you have to reach out and receive it. That’s sovereignty — God can levitate it; but there’s also human responsibility — the least you can do is reach out and get it.

I want to leave you with this: Mt. Zion, you can recover your cutting edge. Would you say after me: “God, I lost it.” There is no recovery without honesty — you can’t recover if you’re not honest and don’t acknowledge, “I’ve lost it.” What I like about it, though, is that even when you’ve lost it, God still says, “I still love you. I have not forfeited My favor over you.” But if you’re going to regain it, you have to be bold enough to say, “I lost it. Take me back to the place where I lost it.” God invites us back into that space — not to traumatize us, but to restore us — because you can’t keep going forward with a handle and no head.

He said, “I’ve levitated it. I’ve resurrected it.” I don’t care how much passion and excitement you’ve lost in your marriage, in your serving, in your walk — He can bring it back again, if you’ll just get in the right position, if you’ll be honest and stop faking it, and reach out and grab it.

Zion, I want to thank you. I pray you would not leave here the way you came. Is there anyone here besides myself who can testify, “I’m leaving with my cutting edge”? “I’m getting my passion back. I’m getting my excitement back. I’m getting my momentum back.” When you go to work tomorrow, go with a smile on your face. I don’t care what the context of your work is — you’re the thermostat, not the thermometer; you set the temperature. Don’t let everybody else’s crankiness set your tone. This is the day the Lord has made — I will rejoice and be glad in it.

To God be the glory.

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Part 3: Everything You Went Through Is Going to Pay Off

Posted on July 24, 2026 by growintheword

Wait On It 

Part 3: Everything You Went Through Is Going to Pay Off

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

July 19th, 2026

Scripture: Hebrews 10:35-36 (NKJV)

35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Prayer:

Lord, our hearts are open to receive Your word without question. We need to hear from You, and I pray, God, that this word will speak squarely into our lives — however we’re watching around the world in this place today. I pray, God, that You will send Your Word so that somebody’s life will be changed, that somebody will make a decision that will impact their family and their legacy. Speak right now into where we are, and we give You the glory and the praise. Now, in Jesus’ name, amen.

I. INTRODUCTION

Watch the full Sunday service: https://www.youtube.com/@mtzionnashville/streams

There are moments in all of our lives — and I believe we can agree — where our faith feels expensive and the return on what we believe feels delayed. And if we’re honest, that can be frustrating. But you’ve done everything you were supposed to do. You obeyed when it wasn’t convenient. You stayed faithful when it wasn’t popular. You endured hardship when it would have been easier to just walk away. And yet you look up and wonder, “Where is the return on all of this?” Have you ever looked up at God and just said, “God, what’s up? When are You going to do this?” Because obedience without immediate evidence can make you question whether it was really worth it.

I’ve done all the things I was supposed to do. I was told if I did this and that, then this and that would happen. You followed the instructions, but the results didn’t follow your timeline. You made the sacrifices and nobody recognized it. Nobody applauded that you did all the things you thought you needed to do. You didn’t want to care, but you smiled through the adversity. You did all those things. You showed up. Yet the truth is, it’s not always doubt that threatens our faith — sometimes it’s discouragement.

I have learned that there are people who, low-key, are experiencing discouragement. You feel like, “I’m a good person, I’m trying to do the right thing, so why is this happening to me?” Sometimes it feels like a gut punch. This discouragement is real, and the enemy uses discouragement to try to cause disillusionment — because once you’re discouraged, you become disillusioned, and once you’re disillusioned, you become disconnected. And once you’re disconnected, you’re primed for depression, and from there the enemy wants to cause destruction. The enemy works overtime, systematically trying to pull you away from God using discouragement to do it. But understand — sometimes it’s not that you stop believing in God, sometimes you just start questioning whether God is going to come through for you. “I know You’re faithful, God. I know what You can do — You’ve proven it over and over through the years — but I’m at a point in my life where I just want to know, God, are You going to do this one for me?”

Listen closely: when you’ve done all the right things yet you don’t see results, when you’ve been so faithful but haven’t seen the harvest yet — the enemy gets spiritually strategic. He doesn’t try to make you deny God; he tries to make you discard your confidence in God, because he knows that if you throw away your confidence, you’ll walk away from your reward.

The book of Hebrews is a fascinating book. It was written to people who were under real persecution. Understand what they were dealing with — this was around 70 A.D., when Jerusalem was being destroyed. This was post-resurrection; this was a time when it wasn’t popular to be a Christian. There was a lot of persecution going on. People who proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ were worshiping in houses, hiding, in fear for their lives. In fact, when you look at Hebrews 10, it tells us that some were mocked in public, others were thrown in prison, and others had their possessions taken from their homes — and the wording carries the connotation that these possessions were seized by force. Can you imagine going to work in the morning and coming home that evening to find someone else in your house? Can you imagine someone else watching your television, someone in your tub, someone knocking on your door saying your car isn’t yours — everything you worked for now being threatened? That’s where they were.

And yet the writer of Hebrews teaches us that they endured that. How could they endure that? Because they believed that what they were losing on earth could never compare to what God had for them in heaven. They understood that what was temporary was never worth sacrificing what was eternal. So when you read verse 35, you hear it differently, because when the writer says, “Therefore, do not cast away your confidence,” he isn’t talking to people who are comfortable. He’s talking to people who had already lost almost everything — believers who had every human reason to walk away and quit. And yet they weren’t bitter, they weren’t jaded, because they knew that following Jesus was worth it.

The message the writer of Hebrews gives them is not, “God understands if you walk away.” That’s not the message. The message is, “Don’t throw away your confidence” — because confidence is always easy to lose after you’ve suffered. Maybe that’s why this text speaks so powerfully today, because some of us know exactly what it feels like to keep doing the right thing while life keeps handing you the wrong thing. You keep praying and it seems like heaven is shut up. You keep giving while you’re barely making it. You keep serving while you’re secretly exhausted. And this text reminds us that nothing endured in faithfulness is ever wasted — that God keeps a record. Heaven is tracking what earth is overlooking, and every act of sacrifice, every act of obedience, every moment you chose faith over frustration, is going to pay off. Man may not recognize it, you may not get the accolades on this earth, but trust me — it’s on God’s radar.

That’s why I want to talk today. I want to help you understand something about obedience and fulfillment. But in order to understand the relationship between obedience and fulfillment, you have to understand how to build endurance. There’s a progression: obedience, endurance, fulfillment. Another way to say it — do what God told you to do, and God will give you what He said He would give you, if you endure what you have to endure to get it.

II. GUARD YOUR CONFIDENCE

A. Confidence is costly to lose.

So let’s talk about confidence, because confidence has to be guarded. Confidence is the currency of your faith — just like currency, if you lose it, you lose your ability to transact. You cannot receive what you no longer believe is possible. That’s why the writer says don’t cast it away — because your confidence carries reward. That means your confidence is not emotional; your confidence is strategic.

And let’s be honest — confidence is easy when things are going well. It’s easier to believe when doors are opening, when the check is showing up, when the good report comes, when everything lines up. But it’s hard to believe and have confidence when the bottom falls out and you have more questions than answers. That’s where real confidence shows up. The enemy understands that, and that’s why he attempts to stop you from trusting God — he wants to shake you, get you to doubt just a little, so he can get you to question what you believe. You begin to release what you’re holding onto. Many people don’t lose their blessing because God changed His mind. You lose your blessing because you lost confidence.

Think about Peter walking on the water. Peter had confidence — I mean, everybody else stayed in the boat, and Peter steps out in confidence, and guess what — he’s walking on the water. Great confidence! But then the storm comes, the wind blows, the water rises, Peter takes his eyes off Jesus, and Peter begins to sink — because he loses confidence. Nothing changed about the water; his confidence changed. And confidence is what produces endurance, because when you have confidence, you can keep going even when life gets hard — and it’s going to get hard. But when you lose confidence, quitting starts to seem like the logical solution. That’s why you have to guard it. You have to protect what you believe about God, even when life begins to challenge you, because confidence keeps you in position. Confidence keeps you in expectation. It keeps your hands open to what God is about to do. It keeps your heart ready for what God is about to do.

When you show me a person who walks in confidence, they show up expecting God to do what God said He would do. “I don’t know how God’s going to do it, but I walk in here with confidence — I just believe it.” A person of confidence walks into a situation and says, “I know there may not be a job for me right now, but I’m confident that God’s got someone about to resign to open up my spot. I’m confident. Thank You for the report, Doctor, but I’m confident that He was wounded for my transgressions, He bore my sicknesses, and by His stripes I am healed. I’ve already got confidence — because God’s Word has the final say.” And that’s what makes confidence so costly to lose, because once your confidence is gone, your motivation begins to go too. You stop pushing, you stop praying, you stop expecting, you stop showing up. Confidence is what keeps you engaged in the process even when it becomes uncomfortable.

There’s somebody I’m talking to right now — you’re not here because everything is comfortable. You’re in the most uncomfortable season of your life, but you keep showing up, because your confidence is what anchors you when your emotions begin to fluctuate. There are some days you feel like it, and some days you don’t. I’m not talking to the “super-spiritual” people who came out of the womb with wings — I’m talking to the real people, who have days where you’re like, “Jesus, I give You praise,” and other days where you’re like, “I just need to be left alone.” Some days I’m up, some days I’m down. Some days I feel like smiling, and some days I know it’s just not that kind of day. My emotions fluctuate, but my confidence is the reminder that God sees it all.

B. Discouragement targets what endurance protects.

Discouragement targets what endurance is protecting. Discouragement is demonically strategic — the devil knows how to deploy people to discourage you. “I’ve got a business plan, I’m so excited about it.” “Oh, I don’t know why you’re trying to do that, there’s no market for that.” You didn’t even ask them — why are they even in your business? Because the devil assigns people to try to discourage you. “I’m just waiting on God to do it for me.” “I’m not going to rush into marriage.” “How much longer? I just believe in being a virtuous woman, that’s what it’s all about.” “You’re out of your mind, that’s what’s wrong with you — that’s why you don’t have anybody.” The enemy doesn’t waste arrows on people who are standing still; he only aims at them once they’ve already taken steps of faith. That’s why discouragement comes after you pray, after you sacrifice, after you serve — that’s when he tries hardest to convince you, “What’s the point?”

If you’re not moving, this isn’t your word, because the enemy isn’t trying to bother you. But the moment you try to move forward, that’s when discouragement comes. The moment you start building, that’s when it shows up. There’s no discouragement when you decide to go to school — you’re good to go. He only moves once you actually start. Once the business jumps off, once you’re on the road, that’s when the enemy whispers in your ear, “What’s the point?” He tries to convince you that everything you’ve done has been for nothing. But I’ve come to declare: the devil is a liar. Every prayer you prayed matters. Every sacrifice you made matters. Every act of obedience matters. Every seed you sowed matters.

Endurance honors God by refusing to retreat, and it says, “Even if I don’t see it yet, I’m not going back.” Sometimes your greatest victory is not taking another step forward — it’s refusing to take a step back. “If I’m not moving forward, I’m at least standing here until God gives me instruction. One thing I’m not going to do is go back to the dysfunction. I’m not going back to that crazy stuff. I’m not going back to what broke me. I’m going to stand right here.” Laugh if you want, but I won’t be shaken, and I’ll always abound in the work of the Lord, because my labor is not in vain.

Think about Jesus. He was under crushing pressure, overwhelming sorrow, sweating drops like blood — yet He prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” He endured the cross to receive the crown, and refused to abandon what became our salvation. Think about Nehemiah — every brick he laid on the wall was met with ridicule. Sanballat and Tobiah laughed at him, criticized him, threatened him, tried to distract him. They wanted him to come down from the wall because they wanted to stop him from building. But Nehemiah said, “I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down.” Sometimes your greatest response is to keep building.

I know something about that personally. I recently announced the launch of a fifth morning worship service, and I know there are some low-key people questioning the wisdom of that, wondering whether we should be doing that, particularly in this post-pandemic season of the church. But I don’t take constructive criticism from people who haven’t constructed anything themselves. What you need to be doing is figuring out what God is doing right here, instead of wondering whether it’s necessary or whether it’s too much. Maybe we haven’t outgrown this building this week, but the same people who criticized us moving from Jefferson Street said it wasn’t going to work. They said it wouldn’t work moving to the next location. They said it wouldn’t work moving from there. They said it wouldn’t work moving to Brentwood. And if God did it before, He can do it again. We’re not doing this out of preference or pressure. We are doing it because God told us to do it. We’re not trying to create capacity for the sake of it — we’re making room for the souls that are on the way. I believe that every seat represents a life that needs to be transformed, a family that needs to be restored. And we’re putting ourselves in position and saying, “God, we’re ready for what You’re about to do.” I believe God is about to blow our minds. Revival is coming — people who are tired of church as usual, people who are hungry for authentic worship, people who need a word that makes sense of their lives.

I believe right now God is speaking to you. Don’t be discouraged when people don’t believe in your dream. Don’t let people push you away from your confidence. Look at your neighbor and say, “Keep on building. Keep on praying. Keep on trusting God.”

One more thing before I move on — there’s a certain intelligence that produces content, and there’s a certain intelligence that lives in the comment section. If God has given you content, don’t spend your time trying to convince people in the comments of what they can’t even comprehend. You’ll never fully explain, in a way they’ll understand, what God is trying to do through you. That’s the devil’s tactic. He’ll try to get you off track.

But God told you: the devil is going to try to get you when you begin paying down the debt, and then an unexpected bill hits. Or you commit to getting healthy, ten pounds gone, and then the cravings come back stronger than before. Or you decide the marriage is worth fighting for, and then next week the communication gets harder than it was before. Or you start serving, praying consistently, reading your Bible, and life feels more difficult than it did a year before. Discouragement is a spirit, but you’ve got to keep showing up, keep praying, keep serving — because every act of your endurance tells your story: God is faithful, and great is His faithfulness.

III. THE REWARD IS AFTER YOUR OBEDIENCE

A. Obedience Without Immediate Payoff Tests Motive.

I want you to hear this: obedience often precedes reward. You obey, and then the reward comes. You can’t get the reward without the obedience. The problem with the modern church — not modern Christianity, but the modern church — is that we’ve raised up spoiled, immature Christians who want reward without obedience. You’re like a child who wants a popsicle but doesn’t want to clean your room. You want to go to the bounce house, but you don’t want to do your homework. If you get the popsicle without the responsibility, you create a mindset that you can get reward by bypassing what you’re supposed to do. That’s why you train a child — otherwise they grow up expecting to be handed things without accountability. Am I talking to anybody here? We’ve raised a generation of people who always want the blessing but don’t want the responsibility.

Here’s the thing — whatever God tells you to do, do it. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Watch this — you can do the will of God and still have to wait on the promise. I know that challenges us, because our culture has conditioned us to expect quick results. But in the kingdom, obedience is not always immediately rewarded — it is eventually rewarded. God is not on our timeline. God doesn’t rush just because you’re ready. He moves when it’s right. You can tell God, “I’m ready,” but just because you’re ready doesn’t mean it’s the right time. It can be your turn, but not your time. God doesn’t rush, because if He gave it to you too soon, it would damage you instead of develop you.

So obedience is about alignment. “Lord, I’m showing You that I can obey, I can align my life with Your Word — and even if my situation doesn’t change immediately, I know that I am in line with You.” That’s how your faith is tested, because you keep obeying when there’s no immediate payout. God honors obedience with timing, not shortcuts — because shortcuts skip development. If you skip development, you’ll pay for it in maintenance later. Some of us have spent twenty years in maintenance because we wanted the result but didn’t want to spend the quality time necessary to be developed.

“Lord, do whatever You’ve got to do in me. Don’t take me to another level unless You’ve developed me for it.” Obedience without immediate payoff tests your motives. Why does God allow that? Because He’s trying to show you what your motive is. If your obedience is based on outcomes, it will always frustrate you. But if your obedience is rooted in love and trust, that’s what will sustain you — because God isn’t just looking at what you do, He’s looking at why you do it. Sometimes He allows delay to purify your motives — to shift you from “I’ll obey You if You do this” to “I’ll obey You because I love You and I trust You.”

Job teaches us that endurance is not the absence of pain — it is the presence of trust. After losing his children and his health, Job made one of the greatest declarations of faith in Scripture: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” That was not resignation — that was revelation. Job had settled something in his heart: that God’s character would never be determined by his circumstances. He refused to let what happened to him redefine who God was to him. Job wasn’t the only one who lived with that kind of confidence.

It is conviction-based, not circumstance-based.

Think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, standing before Nebuchadnezzar, who was about to turn the furnace up seven times hotter. They knew the fire was actually going to happen. They might die in that furnace if they didn’t bow down to the golden image, but those three Hebrew boys stood before the king and said, “We know that our God is able to deliver us from this fiery furnace, but if He doesn’t do it, we are still not going to bow down.” They believed God could — and even if God didn’t, they had already decided they would still be faithful. That’s what endurance looks like. That’s what confidence looks like. It’s conviction-based, not circumstance-based. Can your convictions be greater than your circumstances? Can you get to a point where, if God doesn’t do what you want Him to do in your circumstance, your convictions are still so strong that you say, “God, my circumstances have changed, but my convictions remain the same. I still trust You”?

It refuses to let disappointment become bitterness.

Here’s the secret — refuse to let disappointment turn into bitterness. Never let people who disappoint you, or situations that disappoint you, make you bitter. Choose the better path instead, and live the rest of your life free of that bitterness. You’ve seen this before — how some people were cool with you when things were going well, you hung out, maybe you hired them, maybe you helped them, and then when things went a little sideways, all of a sudden they threw the whole relationship away. “You don’t work for me anymore, so you don’t come to church, you’re not my friend anymore” — the distance just happens. Why? Because you couldn’t sustain a genuine friendship through a temporary disagreement or inconvenience — which means it wasn’t really friendship, it was a transactional arrangement all along. Sometimes that’s what God wants you to see — that the friend you thought you had wasn’t really your friend.

It worships God for who He is, not just for what He does.

I’m doing the best I can, and we can disagree and still be friends — but if we can’t, then we really weren’t friends. I worship God for who He is, not just for what He does. That’s the kind of mindset you need. I’m not responding to You based on what You do for me — I respond to You based on who You are, so I give You glory regardless. God, even if I don’t get the job, I still give You glory. If I get the job, I’m going to give You glory. You won’t even be able to tell whether I got good news or bad news when I come to church, because I’m going to act the same either way. That’s because I know what I know about God — and if God closes one door, He’s got another door open on the other side. If God closes one relationship, He’s got another king or another queen waiting for me. So I’m not going to sulk — I’m going to be a blessing whether I get it or not, because He knows what’s best for me.

B. God Honors Faithfulness Over Speed.

Let me tell you something: God’s faithfulness matters more than speed. We live in a culture that celebrates speed — same-day delivery, instant downloads, overnight success, viral moments, microwave miracles. We’ve become so accustomed to things happening quickly. But God doesn’t move on our timetable. Heaven doesn’t measure the way earth measures. God is not impressed by how fast you arrive — He’s interested in how faithfully you walk. Speed impresses people, but faithfulness impresses God. Faithfulness says, “Lord, if it takes longer than I planned, I’ll still obey. Lord, I’ll wait another year if I have to. If nobody notices my sacrifice, I’ll still show up.” That’s the kind of faithfulness Hebrews is talking about, because waiting is never a waste with God.

Think about Moses. At forty years old, God had called him to deliver Israel, but he tried to accomplish God’s purpose on his own timetable, and one impulsive decision sent him into the wilderness for forty years. Imagine that — forty years on the backside of the desert tending sheep. To everyone else it looked like his life was wasted, but heaven saw something different. God wasn’t letting Moses waste away — God was preparing him. The palace gave him education; the wilderness gave him humility. The years of tending sheep taught him how to lead God’s people. The silence taught him how to hear God’s voice. So when Moses was eighty years old, God called him from the burning bush. Most people would have said, “You’re forty years too late,” but God said, “You’re finally ready” — because here’s the lesson: God is never late, but He refuses to release you until your character can sustain your calling.

Can I tell you why some people never reach what God has for them? Because they leave too soon. They quit before they earn it. They abandon the process because they mistake the delay for a denial. But God isn’t looking for people who can start fast — He’s looking for people who can stay faithful. You’ve seen people like this — they come to church on fire, they never miss a service, they volunteer for everything, they talk about what God is doing — and six months later, they’re nowhere to be found. Enthusiasm can get you started, but faithfulness is what keeps you going.

IV. ENDURANCE UNLOCKS THE PROMISE

A. What You Survived Prepared You.

Let me share this with you: endurance is the bridge between obedience and fulfillment, and without it, you never cross over to the promise. It’s not enough to start well. We’re always good at starting — how’s that workout plan you started in January going? I’m just asking for a friend. How’s that daily Bible reading going, the one you started in January? I’m just asking for a friend. “I’ll be at church every single time” — how’s that going for you? I’m just asking for a friend. Because we’re good at starting, but we’re not always good at following through.

Think about the word “endurance” — it implies being under something, like a bridge. A bridge carries weight; it’s built to be under weight. The bridge doesn’t quit just because it sees something heavy coming — the bridge welcomes the weight, because it was built to carry it. Some of you are complaining about the Prius crossing you, and God can’t send the eighteen-wheeler, because you’re whining over the small thing. You’re worked up over the little things and expecting God for the big things. He’ll give you the big blessing once you stop having an existential crisis over the little things.

This is why I love this text — it makes sense. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 1, says, “Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.” And later, verses 16 through 18: “Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” When you see people walking in levels of glory that you’re low-key jealous of, you don’t realize the weight it takes to carry that glory.

I’m trying to help somebody — that’s why some people hate on us. We wish they could have it for just one week, because if they had it for one week, they’d give it right back to us. They only see the glory; they don’t see the weight it takes to carry it. They don’t see the nights we’ve had to cry. They don’t see the haters we’ve had to navigate. They don’t see everything we’ve had to move through. But somebody here can give God glory, because you know you’ve been built for this. Look at your neighbor and say, “You’ve been built for this.” Tell them, “Don’t let the small stuff discourage you — you’ve been built for something big. If God lets you carry something heavy, it’s because He’s already prepared you to carry it.”

Here’s something I want you to consider: what you survived was actually preparing you. Every single thing God allowed you to go through was building something and developing something in you, even if you didn’t realize it at the time. It was preparing you for something that wasn’t for right now — it was for later. So God had to prepare you. He had to take you through certain things, take His hand off certain situations, so you could experience them yourself — because you never would have grown the way you needed to without going through it. You never would be looking at the world the way you look at it now. You never would have the level of discernment you have now. You’d have thought everybody was your friend — if you hadn’t gone through what you went through. But now that you’ve gone through it, you’ve learned how to give God glory for things other people are still complaining about. You’ve learned how to throw your hands up and say, “God, I thank You for everything I’ve gone through — even every fake friend, because now I know who my real friends are. I thank You for the times I was broke, because now I know where my real blessing comes from. Lord, I give You glory for every single thing I’ve been through.”

B. It’s Payoff Season.

I want to make an announcement — I don’t know who this is for, but I want to make this announcement clear: what you’ve endured is about to pay off. I want to try to get this out clearly — what you’ve endured is about to pay off. Can I tell you something? Nothing you went through was wasted. There was no senseless season, no tear you cried, no delay, no disappointment that God won’t use. I know you’re thinking, “Are you telling me God is going to use all of that? He’s going to use my disappointment? He’s going to use my breakthrough?” Yes. How do I know God will use it? Because we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So God will use it all. What the devil meant for bad, God will turn for good.

I need to tell somebody: your payday is coming. Come on, say it again — payday is coming. Some of you have been working on a job, and you didn’t get paid every day, but you got paid on schedule. It showed up. You worked hard, didn’t get paid Monday. You worked hard, came back Wednesday, still no check. You worked hard Friday, still nothing in your hand — but you didn’t quit, because you understood: just because you didn’t get paid didn’t mean you weren’t earning. And when payday came, you didn’t just get paid for one day — you got paid for everything you’d worked through.

The problem is some of us treat God like direct deposit. We expect blessings to hit our account overnight. But heaven still works on payroll. Payroll doesn’t forget your hours. Payroll keeps records. Payroll knows every minute. Payroll may not release it on the week you want it to happen, but heaven keeps good records. Heaven hears your prayers and logs them. Heaven sees your tears and logs them. Heaven sees your sacrifice and logs it. Your payday is coming.

Here’s the word I want to leave you with today: God has never misplaced a timesheet. I said, God has never misplaced a timesheet. Some of you have been showing up in faith, working in obedience, enduring the pressure, and it feels like nothing is paying off — but I’ve been sent to tell you that God is about to release payday in your direction. Payday is coming. Payday is coming. Don’t throw away your confidence right before payday, because payday is coming. Every night you had to survive, every tear — God told me to tell you: when it comes, it’s coming in. That’s what’s about to break loose in your life.

Can I tell you something else I love about payroll? Sometimes, before the money hits your account, before the deposit ever lands, you get a notification — “Your payroll has been processed. Your direct deposit is pending.” The money isn’t in your hand yet, but you have a testimony — you have a notification that it’s on the way. I believe somebody here has a notification: it’s not in your house yet, but it’s pending. Not here yet, but it’s pending. So lift your head up and give God the biggest praise you can, because the closer we get, the more we ought to praise Him.

Would you do me a favor? Look at your neighbor real quick and tell them: the paperwork has been approved. The King has already signed it. It’s already been settled — you’re just waiting on it to arrive in your time. When it gets here, think about the goodness of God, think about how good He’s been to you. I want you to think about the house you’ve been looking for. I want you to think about everywhere you are around the world, and I need you to reach down and think about what you had to go through — all the time you cried, all the time things fell apart — and I want you to open your mouth for the next sixty seconds and give God the kind of praise that will be ready when it shows up.

Open up your mouth.

Have a blessed new week with the Lord! ❤️

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Your Revelation Is Worth the Wait

Posted on July 17, 2026 by growintheword

Wait On It

Part 2: Your Revelation Is Worth the Wait

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

July 12th, 2026

Scripture: Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NKJV)

2 The Lord answered me:

Write down this vision;

clearly inscribe it on tablets

so one may easily read it.

3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time;

it testifies about the end and will not lie.

Though it delays, wait for it,

since it will certainly come and not be late.

Watch the full Sunday service: https://bit.ly/3JElBxp

Prayer:

Father, we thank You now, and pray that Your Word will speak to us, that our lives will be blessed. God, I thank You for what You’re going to do in this place. Now speak Your Word. We have been made better because of what we’re about to receive. Now, Lord, help us — that we might be better, and we thank You. We’re not here by accident. We’re not tuned in by accident. This is a moment orchestrated by You. We give You glory and praise in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I. INTRODUCTION

Habakkuk chapter 2, verses two and three: “Then the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak; it will not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’”

Today we’re going to talk about vision — how God shows you something, and how difficult it is to wait until that thing comes to pass. The tension for many of us is knowing that God has revealed something to us, but wondering when it will manifest. We shout about it on Sunday, we give God glory, we start making plans, we even share it with trusted friends — and then we find ourselves looking up on Monday saying, “God, what’s up?”

That waiting period is interesting, because it really makes us rely upon the timing of God and not our own. We have our own concept of time because we are prisoners of chronos — chronological calendars. We are prisoners of time itself.

God is not bound by that. We know the Word says He is everlasting, He is God. He operates in eternity. He operates in kairos moments — divinely orchestrated moments where He moves whenever He gets ready to move, because He is all-knowing, omnipotent, and omnipresent — everywhere at the same time. Whenever He shows up, it may be late on your chronograph, but it is kairos — right on time.

It may not make sense sometimes when God moves like that, because you’ve put God on a schedule. You’ve given God an emergency: “Lord, I need it by Thursday. Lord, show up by—” but God steps out of eternity into time, and He does it whenever He chooses. He has the capacity to align heaven with your life.

So the real issue about vision is this: when God shows you something, you don’t get to control when it shows up. But understand that God is not only showing you something — He is preparing you for something before it arrives. If God is showing you something big, He’s requiring a certain weight-bearing capacity in your life to carry it. There are things you must go through that you would never volunteer for, but they are preparatory.

Think about it: God tells Joseph at an early age and shows him visions. Joseph recognizes there is something different about him — yet God has to take him through a series of things like, being hated by his brothers, going through Potiphar’s house, going through the pit, going through prison. He has to experience those seasons because the character needed to sustain what’s waiting for him in the palace has to be developed in the process. Waiting for the revelation to come to pass, for the vision to come to pass, suggests that God gives me a word, God gives me a vision — and what Habakkuk is saying to us today is that the power of this vision is our ability to wait on it to manifest, so that God can do in us what He needs to do so that all things align.

Now let’s be clear — Habakkuk is not distant or disconnected from what he is experiencing at the time he writes this. He is a man deeply engaged with what’s happening around him. He sees the trouble, the injustice, the corruption going unpunished, violence prevailing — and he brings those things directly to God, unfiltered. That gives us permission to not sanitize our prayers. You can go to God and tell Him exactly what your frustration is. He can handle it. You can literally say, “God, this doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand what’s happening” — and God can deal with it.

Why is this important? Because it’s important to understand: in your frustration, God will always give you revelation. Revelation often solves a problem born out of frustration. Revelation is God’s work — it means God is revealing something to you.

We often think God is revealing certain things about His nature, and in some aspects He is — a little bit here, a little bit there — because we cannot receive the totality of God’s glory at one time. None of us could handle it. Now we see Him in part, but later on, face-to-face we will see Him in His full glory. So God shares a little here and a little there. But this is deeper than that. He’s not just sharing part of Himself — He’s also sharing something He needs you to do.

Whenever God is showing you something, admit that it’s being shown to you, because it’s something you must participate in. When God gives you a vision, it is never exclusively for you — it always involves other people. Vision should never die with the visionary. If it dies with the visionary, it never was of God. Vision must live beyond the visionary — it is generational. That’s why, when God gives you a vision, He always aligns the right people in your life to make the vision come to pass.

Stop grieving over who left, because they were never aligned with what God was showing you. When God gives you a vision, He aligns the right people, He puts you in the right place, He aligns you with Him and His Word — and just like that, you’re in the process of manifestation.

II. GOD GIVES VISION BEFORE FULFILLMENT

God gives vision before fulfillment. He never fulfills what He has not first revealed. That’s important, because it means what you’re waiting on did not catch God by surprise — it started with Him. Vision is heaven’s preview, not heaven’s conclusion. Too many people treat the preview like it’s the final product. When God shows you something, He’s inviting you into the process, not handing you a finished product — which means there will be stages, seasons, and steps between what you saw and what you see now.

This is about stewardship, because revelation is a responsibility before it becomes a reality. It’s about management before manifestation. We want the outcome but not the discipline required to carry it — but God isn’t just interested in giving you something. He’s interested in growing you into someone who can handle it.

A. Writing The Vision Sustains Clarity During Delay.

Vision has to be clear, because confusion always creates impatience. When you’re not sure of what God said, you settle for counterfeits that only look like what God promised. You chase opportunities and relationships that feel right, and shortcuts that look right, but aren’t of God’s will. Think of a GPS: when you enter a destination, it takes over from there — even tells you what time you’ll arrive. It starts talking: “In two miles, take a left.” Meanwhile you’re playing your favorite music, bobbing along, and right when the song hits its best part — the GPS overrides it: “In one mile, exit right.” You get frustrated because you chose entertainment over direction. You have to decide in this season: do you want to be entertained, or do you want direction for your life? Because without the GPS, every exit looks like the right one — God to order my steps in this season. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” When God gives revelation, He always gives direction on how to get there — because God sees what we do not see.

Write the vision. Say it: “Write the vision.” Why is this important? Because it gives permanence to the revelation. Let’s be honest — your feelings are going to change, your environment is going to change, your confidence may fluctuate, but when you write it down, something shifts! Writing it down becomes a weapon against forgetfulness. I cannot trust my emotions, because my emotions will cause me to forget what God has shown me. So I have to capture the moment. When God shows it to me — I must write it down, so it keeps the promise intact.

Think about it — everything you’ve ever manifested started because somebody wrote it down. Somebody in junior high wrote, “One day I’m going to college and I’m going to do this” — and you’re doing it right now. Somebody wrote, “One day I’m going to have my own business” — and you’re doing it right now. Somebody wrote, “One day I’m going to meet an amazing man who’s going to take care of me and love me” — and guess what, you’re sitting right next to him right now. Somebody wrote, “I’m going to marry this amazing woman” — and you’re sitting right next to her right now. And somebody wrote, “I’m not going to settle for less” — which is why you’re still single right now, waiting for the right one. Even our contracts get written down so there’s no confusion. God tells us to write it because clarity protects us from misinterpretation. A vision written down can be read and reread and reread, so you can rehearse it and reinforce it.

Think about a single brick — just one brick — laid because an architect first put the vision on paper. The workers build, but what the architect has written is what gets built. If the architect keeps the vision only in his head, nothing gets built. If you keep what God has shown you only in your head and it never comes to fruition, you’ll be like the person on the corner saying, “I’m fixing to do this, I’m thinking about this” — but where is it? Why haven’t we seen it in twenty years? Because nobody ever taught you the discipline of writing it down.

God specializes in helping us write things down. God called Moses up to Mount Sinai and gave him the Ten Commandments on tablets — why? Because God knew what Moses was going to encounter when he came back down. God could have just told Moses the commandments verbally and said, “Remember them” — but God knew that if Moses relied on memory alone, when he came down that mountain and found the people partying around a golden calf they’d made, his memory wouldn’t hold. That’s why God wrote it down.

The book of Revelation is about how God told John — when John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day — “Write what you see.” Because when you write it down, you always have a point of reference. In the shaky moments of life, when everything around you is trying to distract you and you feel bruised, you can say, “I’ve got this written down. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the middle — I have to trust what God said.” Write it down, because it’s real.

B. What God Reveals Must Be Stewarded Before It Is Seen.

What God reveals must be recorded before it is seen. Write that down: what God reveals must be recorded before it is seen. Revelation without stewardship leads to frustration.

God often delays something because He’s building your character — that’s the best form of stewardship. Notice: David is anointed king at a young age, but he doesn’t walk into the palace until much later, because he has to go through hiding in caves, running for his life. All of that builds the character required. He knew the promise, but he wasn’t ready. Just because you know it, doesn’t mean you’re ready. God spoke over your life and told you something, but what He’s trying to do is teach you to be faithful where you are, until the thing He showed you comes to fruition.

Everybody wants to celebrate the keys to the house, but few people appreciate the years it took to save for the down payment. Everybody celebrates the ribbon-cutting for the business, but few celebrate the late nights, the rejected loans, the sacrifices, and the moments you felt like giving up. Everybody applauds the graduate walking across the stage, but few celebrate the years of studying, working two jobs, staying up all night finishing assignments. We love to celebrate finished products, but God walks us through the process. Stewardship means: can you still be faithful when there’s no applause? Can you show up to a job you don’t like and still be faithful until God gives you the job you’re praying for? Can you be a good steward of what you have until God gives you what you’re asking for?

III. DELAY DOES NOT DIMINISH TRUTH

A. Silence Is Not Cancellation.

Delays do not diminish truth. The vision will speak — even if it’s silent right now. Just because you don’t hear anything, doesn’t mean God isn’t doing anything. God does His greatest work in the seasons that appear quiet, because the delay does not change God’s promise. The vision will not lie — it will speak. Time cannot corrupt what God has spoken. God often works incrementally. He develops and aligns things over time, because if everything happened the moment you wanted it, you would never grow into it. You’d have it, but you wouldn’t be ready for it. Think about the things you have right now that you never could have handled if God had given them to you the moment you wanted them.

Here’s what I’ve learned: His word always arrives before His work. God will speak it long before you ever see it. He’ll show you the destination while you’re still standing in line — because in preparing the promise for you, He’s also preparing you for the promise. You keep asking, “Lord, when is it coming?” and God says, “It’ll come when you become who you need to become.” That’s why timing is important. People get discouraged while waiting, but there’s something waiting produces — prolonged waiting moves us away from self-sufficiency and causes us to rely on God, and God builds something in us through it. Waiting is where our faith can breathe. Waiting is where our pride bows down. Waiting is where we learn to stand. Waiting is where our flesh learns to surrender. It’s in the waiting that we begin to realize God is doing something — and if God said it, it’s going to come to pass. His word will not return to Him void; it will accomplish what He said. If God said it, it’s coming — it doesn’t matter if your calendar changes, your zip code changes, your economic situation changes, your relationship status changes, your promotion status changes. It doesn’t matter — He’s got it, it’s just a matter of time.

Silence is not cancellation. Sometimes it seems like, “If it’s coming, why is God so quiet?” God is not obligated to give you a status report along the way. Sometimes you have to know how to move when God is quiet. Learn this: some of God’s best work happens in silence. God was quiet on Friday when Jesus died — quiet Friday night, quiet all day Saturday — but on the third day, He got up. Quietness doesn’t mean inactivity — it just means the movement is happening where you can’t see it, but God works in the silence. It’s the silence that stretches your trust, that forces your faith to mature beyond how you feel.

B. What God Said Still Speaks.

What God said — the vision — speaks at the end, not in the middle. You cannot judge what God told you by what’s happening in the hallway. You have to trust the process and know that if God has spoken it, it’s going to happen at the end.

The vision has a voice — but it isn’t the only voice talking. Your bank account is talking. Your doctor’s report is talking. The news is talking. Social media is talking. Critics are talking. Fear is talking. Even your past has a way of talking. But God says, “My vision will speak.” The question is which voice has your attention — because the voice you listen to determines the life you live. Sometimes we let our circumstances talk louder than what God said to us.

Trust God like Noah. Imagine what Noah must have felt — every nail he drove into that ark was an act of faith, while his neighbors watched and asked, “What are you building?” “I’m building for rain.” Meanwhile, the forecast said no rain was coming, and the region hadn’t seen rain in years and might not for years to come — but Noah kept building, because “He promised me.” There comes a point in your life where all you have is a promise from God — when people ask why you’re applying for that program, why you’re applying for that house, why you’re applying for that loan — and all you can say is, “But He promised me.” When the odds are stacked against you, all you have is a promise from God. Stop letting naysayers talk you out of what God has told you.

IV. WAITING ACTIVATES TRUST

A. Faith Waits Because God Cannot Lie.

Waiting activates trust. We’ve been conditioned to believe waiting is a bad thing, because we can order groceries instantly now — we look at waiting like it’s old-fashioned. But some of the best food came from the crockpot, not the microwave. Some of the best things in life take time. Psalm 40 says, “I waited patiently on the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” While David was waiting, God was moving. God is still active while you’re waiting — but here’s the thing: waiting aligns your will with God’s wisdom, because faith requires waiting, and God cannot lie.

We don’t ask God for the process — we ask Him for the breakthrough — but faith understands that vision carries the character of God. When God shows you something, His character is tied to what He showed you. God is so reliable that it’s not that He chooses not to lie — He can’t lie. His character is love. His character is goodness. So when I’m going through something that feels bad, that doesn’t mean God is bad — it just means I haven’t caught up yet with the revelation of who God is. All things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

If God cannot lie, then when He tells you something, you’d better believe it is so. A check is only as good as the account behind it — the value isn’t in the paper, it’s in the one who signed it. If a relative who’s always broke hands you a check for $10,000, you’re not rushing to the bank to cash it because you know their track record. But if someone with real means and credibility handed you that same check, you’d trust it — because you know the character behind it. That’s why I keep serving, keep worshiping, keep believing — because God cannot lie.

B. What Is Appointed Cannot Be Aborted.

Have a blessed new week with the Lord! ❤️

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Part 1: Weary But Waiting

Posted on July 10, 2026 by growintheword

Wait On It

July 2026 Sermon Series

Part 1: Weary But Waiting

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

July 5th, 2026

Scripture: Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

9 And let us not grow weary while doing good,

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Watch the full Sunday service: https://www.youtube.com/@mtzionnashville/featured

Prayer

Hallelujah, Father, thank you for your Word today. Speak to us today where we are, shifting us to what you want us to be. And we thank you. And as we begin this series, “Wait On It,” we pray that you will give us a word to help us indeed — to just let us know that a change is on the way. We give you glory and praise in Jesus’ name, Amen!

I. INTRODUCTION

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that does not occur because you are out of the will of God or doing something wrong. There is an exhaustion that comes from doing things right. I know what that feels like — to show up for people who don’t show up for you, to walk in integrity, to do the best you can every single day, to grind — and yet you don’t see the results.

I don’t mind doing the work as long as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But what do you do when the more you do, it looks like somebody keeps moving the goal post? You can smile in public and be wrestling in private, asking God, “Lord, how much longer?” You’ve been faithful in your family, consistent on your job, committed in your calling, and disciplined in your devotion — and yet the results are delayed. And delays cause our minds to go to places we would otherwise never think about: Why is this happening to me? Why is it taking so long?

Let’s be clear — that’s exactly where we are in the text today. Paul is sending a word to the people of Galatia — people who were faithful, who had not abandoned their faith, but they were tired. The church at Galatia had been thriving, yet they had to deal with false teachers who were saying that accepting Jesus Christ was not enough — that they also needed to adhere to the Law of Moses, particularly circumcision. Paul defends them with one central truth (Galatians 2:16): we are justified by faith in Christ alone, not by works of the law. When Jesus came into my life, that was enough. They weren’t rejecting Jesus — they were adding requirements to Him. But when I have Jesus Christ in my life, He is more than enough.

To understand how we arrive at chapter 6, we have to look comprehensively at the first five chapters:

  • Chapter 1 – Revelation: The word preached about Jesus Christ did not come out of human intellectual property — it came out of divine revelation. God’s Word still speaks to your life. It is not a coincidence that God puts you in the right place at the right time to reveal the word you need in the season you need it.
  • Chapter 2 – Vindication: Paul defends his apostolic authority. Though he was not one of the Twelve, he met the Lord on the Damascus Road. “I became an apostle because I saw the Man too.” Even if institutions and people don’t confirm you, if God has His hand on your life, that settles it.
  • Chapter 3 – Justification: A legal term meaning acquitted. God, through faith, has justified me — just as if I never did it. I cannot work for this; God gave me a clean slate. If you have nothing else to give God glory for, thank God that you have been justified.
  • Chapter 4 – Liberation: Once you are in Christ, you walk in the Spirit. You are no longer a slave to your flesh or to the things that hurt you in your past. The Holy Spirit is your new master — He leads you and guides you.
  • Chapter 5 – Transformation: Life in the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit rather than the works of the flesh. You can tell how authentic a relationship with Christ is by the fruit it produces — not the gifts. You can have the gifts of the Spirit and not the fruit of the Spirit.
  • Chapter 6 – Restoration: Paul turns the corner. Restore those who have fallen (v.1); carry each other’s burdens (v.2); walk in humility (v.3); support those who teach the Word (v.6); sow to the Spirit instead of the flesh (vv.7–8). And he summarizes it all: let us not grow weary in doing what is right, because in due season you are going to reap if you do not faint.

II. DON’T LET YOUR FATIGUE FOOL YOU

A. Your weariness is proof you’ve been faithful, not failing.

Notice Paul never says you’re not going to get tired. He just says don’t grow weary in doing what is good. Sowing to the Spirit sometimes can wear you out — trying to do good when good ain’t paying off, pouring into people who don’t appreciate it, loving people who are unlovable, giving to people who won’t even accept your apology. Doing good will eventually cost you something — emotionally, spiritually, physically. Paul does not dismiss weariness; he defines it. Weariness is not weakness. It’s evidence that you’ve been doing something meaningful. Even Jesus got weary. The enemy understands this — that’s why he doesn’t always tempt you to do wrong; sometimes he just tempts you not to do right.

Weariness has a voice that whispers that your effort is not enough and your consistency is unnoticed. But fatigue is just a feeling — it is not the final word. You can be tired and still be trusted by God. You can be weary and still be in position for what’s next.

Many people assume weariness means you did something wrong. Yes, there is a tiredness that comes from trifling — but there is also a tiredness that comes from just trying to do right. You’re not tired because you’re inconsistent; you’re tired because you’ve been committed — holding up stuff for other people, carrying other people’s burdens, taking on more than you thought you’d have to. This is the psychology of unrewarded effort: human beings can endure almost anything if the effort produces progress; when effort appears disconnected from results, you lose motivation. That’s why people quit school, marriages, businesses, ministry — not because they’re incapable, but because they stop seeing movement. The enemy doesn’t attack your ability; he attacks your perception. But God does His best work underground before you see it overhead. Noah preached and built for years before it ever rained. Hannah prayed for years before Samuel showed up. Joseph remained faithful in the pit and the prison long before he ever came to the palace. Your exhaustion is evidence that God is still active.

B. The real battle is staying consistent, not staying sinless.

This is not a sin problem — it’s a surrender problem. The real temptation isn’t rebellion; it’s resignation. Stopping feels so logical when you’re tired. You’re still showing up physically, but in your spirit you’re already disengaged — and the people around you haven’t gotten the memo that you’ve checked out. The enemy disguises retreat as rest. Rest is biblical, but retreat is dangerous, because when you stop sowing, you stop the season God wants you to participate in. The disciples fished all night and gave up — they were so tired — but Jesus said, “Go back again,” and when they went back, they caught a great harvest of fish. The danger isn’t walking away loudly; the danger is drifting away quietly. That’s why you have to guard your heart and guard your mind, and learn to manage what’s happening with your fatigue.

III. YOUR HARVEST HAS BEEN SCHEDULED BY HEAVEN

A. God’s delays are designed, not denials.

Your harvest has been scheduled. The depth of hope is not in your talent — it’s in His timing. Harvest doesn’t come because you’re gifted; it comes because you’ve matured. God has already factored in every denial and every discouragement — nothing about your wait has caught God off guard. Timing is not punishment; it is preparation, because anything God gives you prematurely, you don’t have the capacity to sustain. God isn’t slow — He’s strategic. Just because God is quiet doesn’t mean what you’re dealing with is broken. He is shifting things even when you can’t sense them.

Think of the airport: your flight gets delayed and you’re huffing and puffing with your arms folded, mad about something you cannot control — but you don’t leave the airport, because your mind is set on your destination. What you need to thank God for is a divine delay, because sometimes God is protecting you from something that could have happened if you’d left on time. David was anointed early but did not come to the throne until many years later. Abraham waited decades for Isaac. Jesus spent thirty years preparing for a three-year ministry. If you rush God, you might miss what you prayed for. Let this season stretch you, not frustrate you. Waiting doesn’t mean God has changed His mind — it means God is completing His math.

B. Don’t let impatience interrupt your increase.

This culture has messed you up. Amazon trained you, DoorDash empowered you, streaming spoiled you. We went from two-day shipping to same-day to two hours; if a website doesn’t load in four seconds, you think it’s broken. Technology has convinced you that speed equals value — but the kingdom of God doesn’t operate on algorithms; it operates like agriculture, and agriculture refuses to be rushed. You cannot microwave maturity. You cannot overnight character. You cannot prime-ship purpose. We’ve become excellent at downloading information but terrible at developing endurance. Impatience is more than an emotion — it is a spiritual interruption. Get out of God’s way and trust that God knows what He is doing.

There is a price to the promise. The farmer doesn’t plant a seed and dig it up every day to check on it — he plants it and leaves it alone, because his family’s well-being is tied to what’s in the ground. He protects it, waters it, prays over it. He doesn’t look at his neighbor’s field with jealousy, because he knows, “I’ve got something in the ground too — I can celebrate your season because I know my season is coming.” Get your face out of Facebook and put your face in the Book, so you can understand what God has promised you. His Word does not return to Him void, but accomplishes what He sent it to do. He may not come when you want Him to — because if He did, you’d take the credit. God will wait until your money can’t get it done and your friendships can’t bail you out, so that when He shows up, nobody gets the glory but Him. But when He shows up, He’s always on time.

IV. QUITTING IS THE ONLY WAY TO CANCEL THE HARVEST

A. You lose heart before you lose your harvest.

When you read the Bible, ask why writers write the way they write. Paul was speaking to a culture that understood agriculture — they lived by the ground, so they knew livelihood comes from sowing and reaping. Sowing and reaping is a law: you don’t have to believe it, but it works whether you believe it or not. You put something in the ground; something comes out. The question is whether you will be in position when the harvest shows up. You lose heart long before you lose harvest. The enemy is trying to uproot you — to frustrate you and make you think your harvest isn’t coming. That’s why so many people miss their blessing: the moment things don’t look like they’re going to happen, they uproot themselves — run to another city, leave the relationship — and never receive the blessing. Nobody taught them to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord; to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in its season; to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain. Just because it isn’t happening overground doesn’t mean nothing is happening underground. God is making moves and connecting relationships — your name is coming up in rooms you haven’t even been in yet. Like a receiver running a timing pattern: the quarterback doesn’t throw the ball to a person, he throws it to a spot, and the ball is already in the air. The receiver has to keep running his route and beat the defensive player to that spot — whoever gets to the spot first gets the blessing. Don’t let the enemy run an interception on your blessing. This is the last time the devil intercepts my blessing!

B. If you’re still standing, God is still working.

If you’re still standing — still showing up even with tears in your eyes — God is still at work. We won’t always see the blatant, demonstrable miracles, but God is performing them every single day: opening blind eyes, healing cancer, bringing people out of wheelchairs. Yet we overlook the most powerful miracle of God every time we come into His house: the person sitting next to you who showed up. You don’t know what it cost them just to show up — the negative words spoken over them, the hell they had to deal with, the trauma they had to overcome. Their being here is a miracle. God is still at work in your life, so don’t grow weary in well doing. You have prayed too much, given too much, sown too much — your due season is about to show up.

Bishop Walker closed with the story of a package he ordered and tracked until the tracking went offline. Frustrated, he called to cancel the order — not knowing that while he was on hold waiting to cancel, the truck was already on his street. Don’t cancel your order — your blessing is already on your street. “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man” what God has stored up for you. God loves you too much to let you quit. It’s okay to be tired, but it’s not okay to stop doing good. Keep doing good even if it doesn’t come back to you — your reward is greater than what they can give you. It may take a year, two years, three, four — but God put you in the right room, in the right service, to hear the right word. You can’t wait on it unless you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. B

Have a blessed new week with the Lord! ❤️

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