The Divine Exchange: Trading Your Plans for God’s PurposeSample

Obedience Through Suffering

When God told me to close my business, I thought obedience would unlock instant blessings—new doors, divine phone calls, maybe even an angelic email. Instead, it felt like everything went silent. Bills didn’t miraculously vanish, opportunities didn’t rain from Heaven, and I didn’t wake up glowing with purpose. What I did wake up with was confusion… and a very empty calendar.

Obedience, I discovered, doesn’t always look glamorous. It often feels like walking through a tunnel without knowing when you’ll see light again. There were days I prayed faithfully, only to end up crying quietly over unpaid bills and uncertain tomorrows. Some friends celebrated my “leap of faith.” Others politely wondered if I had, perhaps, “leaped too far.”

But through the silence, something beautiful happened—God began to reshape my heart. He stripped away my need to perform, my obsession with progress, and my addiction to applause. Like Jacob under Laban’s roof, I was being trained in hiddenness. I didn’t know it then, but that season of obscurity was Heaven’s classroom, teaching me the difference between working for God and walking with Him.

Lesson
Obedience is rarely comfortable, but it’s always fruitful. Suffering in the will of God produces something success never can—depth. When God delays your “next big thing,” it’s not denial; it’s development. The same wilderness that humbles you will also heal you if you stay the course.