Do It: Before God Asks You to Obey, He Prepares You
“His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He tells you to do, do it.'” — John 2:5
Have you ever looked at someone else’s life and thought, How did they end up there?
Maybe you’ve watched someone start a thriving business, write a book, launch a ministry, restore an old home, or step into a calling that seems almost larger than life. From the outside, it can look like everything happened overnight.
I have learned over the years, God’s “Suddenlies” are rarely sudden.
They may feel sudden to us because we’re only seeing the moment the door opens. God, however, has been working behind the scenes long before anyone notices.
That’s become one of the greatest lessons of my own life.
A couple of years ago, I was having lunch with a friend named Hadassah. We’d never met before, so we spent most of our conversation simply getting to know one another. Somewhere in the middle of lunch she stopped me, smiled, and asked, “Do you realize that’s one of your life themes?”
I looked at her a little confused.
“What?”
She laughed.
“‘Do it.'”
Apparently I had repeated those two words several times while casually telling stories from my life. Then she shared something that caught my attention. When she received a phone call inviting her to speak at an APEPT conference, she grabbed a piece of paper before the conversation was even over and wrote two simple words:
Do it.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right.
There have been countless moments in my life that probably looked spontaneous to everyone else.
Starting an Airbnb.
Leaving pastoral ministry after years of serving.
Buying and restoring a 1900 Victorian home that most people would have walked away from.
Taking a dream trip to Italy for our twentieth anniversary.
Beginning the Victorious Women’s Retreat.
People often see the finished story and assume we simply woke up one morning and decided to take a huge leap of faith.
The truth is much less dramatic.
Every one of those decisions had been quietly growing long before anyone else ever saw them.
Preparation Always Comes Before the Assignment
One of the greatest misconceptions in the Christian life is the idea that God suddenly interrupts our ordinary lives with unexpected assignments.
I’ve found the opposite to be true.
Long before God calls us into something new, He begins preparing us for it.
The Victorious Women’s Retreat is a perfect example.
More than a decade before the first retreat ever happened, I found myself attending the annual APEPT conferences. Every year I sat under incredible women who had walked with Jesus much longer than I had. I admired their wisdom, their compassion, and their willingness to pour into others.
I remember telling my husband James, “I just wish I could get all of these women into one room and absorb everything they know.”
Without hesitation he smiled and said two familiar words:
“Do it.”
At the time, it sounded impossible.
Dreaming is easy.
Doing is something entirely different.
For a while, I simply carried the idea around. Then I realized something important. If this dream was ever going to become reality, it wouldn’t happen because I had enough talent or enough confidence. It would happen because God had already begun preparing people to carry the vision with me.
The retreat didn’t begin the day we hosted our first conference.
It began years earlier when God started placing wise women in my life.
It began while I was learning to encourage people.
While I was learning to serve.
While I was learning to lead.
Looking back, I can see that God was quietly building something long before I recognized it.
Looking Back Changes Everything
The same thing happened with our twentieth anniversary trip to Italy.
For years James and I had talked about going someday.
Then one afternoon I realized our anniversary was approaching and asked him, “Wait a minute… weren’t we supposed to go to Italy?”
His answer?
“Let’s do it.”
Again, people probably assumed it was a spontaneous decision.
It wasn’t.
God had already prepared the finances.
He had already prepared our business.
He had already prepared family members who could care for our boys while we were away.
By the time we finally bought the plane tickets, much of the preparation had already happened.
The trip felt sudden.
God’s preparation wasn’t.
That’s Who God Is
One of my favorite verses is found in Jeremiah chapter one.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” (Jeremiah 1:5)
God is speaking specifically to Jeremiah about his prophetic calling, so we shouldn’t pretend this verse is a direct promise that every believer has the identical calling Jeremiah did.
But it does reveal something profound about God’s character.
God prepares people before He sends them.
He isn’t surprised by your personality.
He isn’t surprised by your weaknesses.
He isn’t surprised by your past.
He isn’t surprised by your current season.
Nothing about your life catches Him off guard.
Long before He ever invites you to walk through a new door, He has already been shaping the person who will walk through it.
That changes how we see every season of life.
The difficult seasons.
The quiet seasons.
The waiting seasons.
Even the seasons that seem ordinary.
None of them are wasted.
Maybe You’re Being Prepared Right Now
Perhaps you’re waiting for God to reveal your next assignment.
Maybe you’re praying for clarity.
Maybe you’re wondering why nothing seems to be happening.
Can I gently encourage you?
Preparation often feels painfully ordinary.
It’s learning faithfulness in the hidden places.
It’s serving when no one notices.
It’s developing character before anyone applauds.
It’s becoming the kind of person who can carry the very thing you’ve been praying for.
Sometimes we become so focused on asking God to show us the next step that we overlook the work He’s doing within us today.
Before We Get to “Do It”
The theme for this year’s Victorious Women’s Retreat was wonderfully simple:
“Whatever He tells you to do, do it.”
Those words come from Mary at the wedding in Cana, and they have become some of the most practical advice in all of Scripture.
But before we ever talk about obedience, I think it’s important to recognize something else.
Before Jesus ever asked anyone to carry a bucket…
Before He ever performed His first public sign…
Before anyone witnessed the miracle…
God had already been preparing the people who would participate in it.
And perhaps He’s doing the very same thing in your life today.
The door you’re praying for may not be open yet.
The answer may not have arrived yet.
The assignment may still feel distant.
But don’t mistake God’s silence for God’s absence.
He may simply be preparing you for what comes next.
Because that’s the kind of God He is.
Long before He calls…
He prepares.
Reflection
Take a few moments today and look back over your own story.
Can you identify places where God was quietly preparing you long before you recognized what He was doing?
Those moments aren’t coincidences.
They’re reminders that the God who calls His people is also faithful to prepare them. And if He’s preparing you today, you can trust that tomorrow is already in His hands.
