I think most of us spend a lot of our lives looking up. We’re looking for the answer we’ve been praying for, the phone call we’ve been waiting on, the test results we hope will change, or the door we’ve been asking God to open. We keep looking for something big to happen because we assume that’s how we’ll know God is working.
But what if we’ve been looking in the wrong direction?
The other day I watched someone plant a tree. They dug a hole, tucked the little tree into the ground, covered it with dirt, watered it, and walked away. Honestly, it didn’t look like much. If you drove by the next day, you probably wouldn’t notice a thing had changed. Even weeks later, it wouldn’t look much different.
But underneath the surface, everything was changing. The roots were stretching deeper. The tree was becoming stronger. It was preparing for storms it hadn’t even seen yet.
Isn’t that just like God? So often we’re asking Him to change what’s happening around us, while He’s quietly changing what’s happening inside us.
I’ve thought about that a lot this year.
I’ve sat beside hospital beds. I’ve prayed with families whose hearts were breaking. I’ve watched people walk through diagnoses they never expected, and I’ve seen caregivers keep showing up day after day even when they were exhausted. If you asked any of them where they found the strength, I don’t think they’d tell you they were strong.
I think they’d simply say, “God gave me enough for today.”
Not enough for next month. Not enough for next year. Just enough for today. And somehow, that’s always enough.
I’ve learned that some of God’s greatest work is the work no one else ever sees. It’s choosing kindness when your own heart is hurting. It’s getting back up after another hard day. It’s trusting God when the answer still hasn’t come. It’s believing He’s still good, even when life doesn’t make sense. Those moments may never be noticed by anyone else, but I have no doubt they’re noticed by God.
Sometimes we pray for Him to move the mountain, and instead He quietly gives us stronger legs to climb it. Sometimes we ask Him to calm the storm, and instead He teaches us that He’s faithful enough to walk through it with us.
Looking back over my own life, I can see seasons when I wondered why God seemed so quiet. At the time, I thought nothing was happening. Now I realize He was doing some of His greatest work beneath the surface. He wasn’t ignoring me. He was growing roots that would hold me steady for seasons I hadn’t reached yet.
Maybe that’s where you are today. Maybe you’re wondering why your prayers seem to echo back in silence. Maybe you’re tired. Maybe you’re discouraged. Maybe you’re wondering if God sees you at all.
Friend, He does. He sees every tear. He hears every whispered prayer. He knows every fear you’re carrying. And even if you can’t see Him working, that doesn’t mean He isn’t.
One day you’ll look back and realize the season you thought God was the quietest was actually the season He was building the strongest foundation.
So don’t lose heart. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep taking the next faithful step. Because while you’ve been looking up, God has been doing His greatest work underneath the surface.
And one day, you’ll be thankful for the roots.
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