Chapter 01: When God Feels Slow

The rain had been falling since morning — a slow, steady drizzle that made everything feel heavier.

Mira sat by the window, her laptop open but untouched. The blinking cursor on the empty document looked like a heartbeat she could no longer feel.

Deadlines. Messages. Expectations. Everything around her demanded something — but she had nothing left to give.

She used to be the kind of person who woke up early, made lists, prayed with enthusiasm, and believed that purpose was something you could reach if you just tried hard enough. But lately, her prayers felt like whispers lost in the noise of her own exhaustion.

“God, are You still listening?” she murmured, tracing the fog on her window with her finger.

There was no answer — not in words, not in feelings, not in signs.

For weeks, Mira had been waiting for clarity — for God to tell her what to do next, to fix what was breaking inside her. But the silence grew louder each day.

At church last Sunday, Pastor Daniel had preached about patience — “God’s timing is perfect.” Everyone nodded and smiled. But Mira had only smiled out of habit. Inside, she wanted to shout: If His timing is perfect, why does it hurt so much to wait?

That afternoon, her friend Leah stopped by, bringing coffee and her usual brightness.

“Still working on that project?” Leah asked, setting the cups down.

Mira gave a weak laugh. “Trying to. But honestly, I just… can’t focus.”

Leah studied her quietly for a moment. “You know,” she said softly, “maybe you don’t need to force it. Maybe this is one of those seasons where God isn’t silent — He’s just slowing you down so you don’t burn out.”

Mira sighed. “But I feel useless, Leah. Like I’m wasting time. Everyone else seems to be moving forward, and I’m just… stuck.”

Leah smiled gently. “Sometimes being still is moving forward. You just can’t see it yet.”

That night, Mira lay awake staring at the ceiling. Leah’s words echoed in her mind.

She realized she had been treating faith like a to-do list — pray, believe, wait, receive — expecting God to move at the same pace she did. But maybe, faith wasn’t about keeping up. Maybe it was about letting go.

She reached for her Bible, the one gathering dust beside her bed, and flipped it open. Her eyes landed on a verse she’d underlined months ago:

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” — Exodus 14:14

The words hit different this time. They didn’t promise speed. They promised presence.

Mira closed her eyes and whispered a prayer that wasn’t perfect or poetic — just honest.

“God… I’m tired. I don’t know what You’re doing, but I’ll wait. Just don’t leave me here alone.”

And for the first time in weeks, she didn’t feel the weight pressing down as hard. The silence didn’t feel empty — it felt gentle, like the pause between heartbeats.

The next morning, she woke up before her alarm. The rain had stopped, and sunlight peeked through the curtains. Her problems hadn’t disappeared. Her project was still due. But something small had shifted inside her — peace, quiet and fragile, but real.

She brewed herself a cup of coffee, opened her laptop, and began to type.

Not because she had everything figured out, but because she finally understood that God wasn’t slow.

He was steady.

And maybe that was exactly what she needed to become too.

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...🌿 Sometimes, God’s silence is not absence — it’s preparation. When He feels slow, He’s often aligning things faster than we can imagine....

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