I didn’t plan on half of the things that shaped me the most.
I didn’t plan on heartbreak.
I didn’t plan on seasons where my confidence was shaken.
I didn’t plan on quiet, hidden spaces that felt like delay—
but were actually preparation.
The truth is, some of God’s most powerful work in us happens far from the spotlight, far from our timelines, and far from what we prayed for.
We ask God for the destination, and He often responds with a detour.
It’s frustrating—especially when you’re doing your best to stay faithful. You’re showing up, serving, giving, forgiving. You’re not chasing every wind. You’re planted. And yet… it feels like you’re going in circles or like nothing is moving at all.
But what if it’s not a setback?
What if it’s not a delay?
What if it’s God’s hand preparing you?
David didn’t plan the pasture.
He was just tending sheep, minding his business. No applause. No armor. No crown. Yet, that pasture is where he learned how to fight—first lions and bears, then giants.
Sometimes God hides you to develop the parts of you that applause can’t reach.
Before David ever stood on a battlefield, he was out in a field where no one was watching. And that’s where God was watching the most.
So if you’re feeling overlooked…
If the door didn’t open…
If the relationship didn’t work…
If the platform hasn’t come…
Don’t waste your pasture.
God does some of His best building work in private. He uses the unplanned, the uncomfortable, and the unexpected to shape the version of you that can handle the blessing.
And let’s be honest: We all have our version of “how it was supposed to go.”
You thought you’d be married by now.
You thought you’d be further in your career.
You thought ministry would look different.
You thought healing would come faster.
You thought success would feel better.
But sometimes God interrupts what we planned with what we need—and at first, it doesn’t look like a blessing.
It looks like a detour.
But it feels like disappointment.
Still… it’s destiny in disguise.
Joseph didn’t plan the pit.
Or the prison.
But both were part of his path to the palace.
And here’s the part we skip over too quickly:
If Joseph never went to the pit… he never gets to the palace.
If David never stayed in the pasture… he never learns to fight.
The places you didn’t plan—
The ones you cried through…
The ones you’re questioning now…
Those might be the very places God is using to prepare you for the thing you can’t see yet.
So, what does that mean for you?
It means don’t waste your detour.
It means stop cursing the process.
It means lean into the place God has you—even if you didn’t ask for it.
As my sister wisely says, “Lean into it.”
Because what you lean into now might be the very thing that launches you later.
The job you don’t love might be building discipline.
The waiting season might be sharpening discernment.
The loneliness might be developing your listening.
God’s preparation often looks like discomfort.
But it never ends in defeat.
If you’re walking through a season that doesn’t look like what you prayed for, hold on. The detour might just be the most direct path to who you’re becoming. And trust me: who you’re becoming matters more than where you think you’re going.
You didn’t plan for it…
But God prepared it.
And He’s using it to prepare you.
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