Faithfulness in the Unseen

One of the scariest prayers I’ve ever prayed was asking God to show me His will for my life.

There is a big difference between saying that prayer out of habit and praying it with a genuinely obedient heart. The kind that means, Whatever You say, I’ll do it. I had heard so many testimonies tied to that prayer. Farmers selling everything to become missionaries. Men leaving steady nine to five jobs to become pastors. Big moves. Big callings. Big purpose.

So when I prayed it, really prayed it, I expected something significant, obvious, and deeply fulfilling.

What I wasn’t prepared for was what actually happened.

When I finally surrendered, my husband and I both felt called to move. And “called” is hard to explain. God didn’t appear in a vision. There was no dream, no burning bush, no dramatic moment that wrapped everything up neatly. Just a quiet, persistent knowing. So we trusted God and moved forty-five minutes away.

Not exactly life altering on paper.

I felt led to quit my job and stay home with our kids. I did. I opened a home daycare. And then nothing. Silence.

For about four years, I couldn’t understand what God’s will for my life was after that initial step of obedience. I felt alone. A little bitter. Sometimes, if I’m honest, upset with God. During that season, I suffered a miscarriage while we were still struggling to find our place in a new town. Life felt small, heavy, and painfully ordinary.

Looking back now, I can see it clearly. This was my wilderness era. God was growing roots before producing fruit. Roots take time. They grow in darkness. And without deep roots, whatever fruit appears cannot withstand the weight of what comes next.

Like the Israelites who trusted God enough to leave slavery, only to grumble once they were free, I had asked God to lead me, and He did. But when the days became repetitive and the answers weren’t immediate, I started wondering when things would change.

I expected God’s will to feel more important. More noticeable. More fulfilling than the quiet repetition of everyday life.

Instead, it often looked like motherhood in its most unseen form. Changing diapers. Running a home daycare. Long days that blended together. Feeling isolated while faithfully showing up to work that no one applauds and few ever notice.

I struggled with the idea that this could be God’s will.

Yet Scripture tells a different story. We serve a God who forms people in hidden places. Moses spent decades tending sheep in Midian before leading Israel, and David was anointed king only to return to the fields and wait.

What felt mundane was not meaningless. What felt small was not insignificant. God was shaping patience, humility, faithfulness, and endurance in the ordinary moments of motherhood and obedience. The work was quiet, but it was holy.

And here is what I see now. We are not the same people we were five years ago when we moved here. God has provided us with a church family. He placed mentors in our lives at exactly the right time. He surrounded us with people who sharpened our faith when ours felt dull.

When I look back and reflect, I can see God’s handiwork in every single season of our life, even the ones that felt silent. Especially the ones that felt silent.

The wilderness was not wasted time. It was formative time.

The truth is, when I asked God to use me and show me His will for my life, I imagined grand moments. What I didn’t expect was that His will would be lived out in the everyday. In faithfulness when no one is watching. In trust when clarity feels just out of reach. In obedience stretched quietly over years.

God’s will is not always loud, fast, or obvious. Sometimes it is slow, hidden, and deeply refining.

And maybe that is the part of His will we overlook most. Not because it is unimportant, but because it looks ordinary while it is doing eternal work.

Trusting God and allowing Him to work in your life through obedience does not always feel brave or rewarding in the moment. Often, it feels quiet, uncomfortable, and uncertain. But obedience is where God does His deepest shaping. When we loosen our grip on our own timelines and definitions of significance, we make room for Him to work in ways we may not recognize until much later.

If you are in a season where God’s will feels unclear, ordinary, or hidden, do not assume He is absent. Keep showing up. Keep obeying in the small things. Keep trusting Him with today. God is faithful to complete the work He begins, and nothing surrendered to Him is ever wasted.

Sometimes the most powerful yes we give God is simply staying obedient when the path feels quiet.