Have you ever felt God nudging you toward something that didn’t make sense at the time? Maybe you’ve sensed Him stirring something new in your heart, a dream, a move, a change, but you couldn’t see how it could possibly work out. That’s where trusting God’s timing becomes both the challenge and the invitation.
Daniel knew that feeling. In Daniel 8, God gave him a vision about future kingdoms and events that wouldn’t make sense until years later. Still, he wrote it down. Daniel couldn’t see how it all fit together, but God revealed it in advance to strengthen his faith for what was to come.
That is faith in action: trusting that what God reveals has purpose even when the timing and meaning are unclear. And that is exactly what journaling helps us do.
When we keep journaling through uncertainty, we learn that trusting God’s timing isn’t passive. It is the pathway to deeper faith.
Truth 1: God Strengthens Our Faith When We Write Down What We Don’t Yet Understand
Daniel didn’t understand what he saw, but he still recorded it. That’s what faith looks like: believing that God is speaking and that one day His plan will make sense.
“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” ~ Daniel 8:26 (NIV)
Our journals can become that kind of record. Sometimes what we write doesn’t line up with what we see. But if God has spoken it, impressed it, or stirred it, it’s worth writing down.
When you journal those uncertain whispers, that nudge, that phrase, that Scripture that keeps surfacing, you are building a written record of revelation. Over time, you will begin to recognize patterns and see how trusting God’s timing brings His direction into focus.
Truth 2: Trusting God’s Timing Strengthens Your Faith in the Waiting
For me, that truth came alive in a very personal way.
Years ago, I started sensing that God might be calling my family to move across the country. At first, it didn’t make sense. I loved where we lived in the Midwest. I never imagined leaving. But as I prayed and journaled, I kept hearing the same message: expand your territory.
At first, I thought God meant a new neighborhood, something nearby that would give us a little change without changing everything. I started looking at other homes in different parts of town, toured them, explored. I prayed and journaled through what I was sensing, but I also took action. It wasn’t just about listening. It was about responding to what God was stirring in my heart.
As time went on, I began to see that the message expand your territory wasn’t about a new neighborhood within my same city. It was about a much wider view, a broader expansion of where I was living, and also how I was living. God was stretching my vision in ways I couldn’t yet see fully.
For three years, I journaled what I sensed God saying, prayed through the uncertainty, and kept taking small steps of obedience. I even started preparing, purging, and organizing my home as though a cross-country move might actually happen. It felt a little crazy, to be honest, like Noah building an ark with no sign of rain. The few friends I shared it with probably thought it was a dream that would never come true. And sometimes I wondered the same thing.
Those were faith-building years. The waiting was long and unclear, but through it, I learned that trusting God’s timing isn’t about sitting still. It is about staying faithful and responsive while you wait.
“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” ~ Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
That verse anchored me. It reminded me that what feels delayed to me is right on time to God.
Truth 3: Journaling Keeps You Anchored While Trusting God’s Timing
During those years, what truly became my lifeline was learning to listen to God and respond to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. My journaling time was where that conversation happened most clearly. Through writing, I began to notice the patterns of how He spoke to me, the peace that came with His leading, and the gentle conviction that reminded me to stay close to Him.
Journaling gave me clarity. It helped me discern what God was saying and created a record of His direction that I could return to when doubt crept in. On the days when I wondered if I had heard Him correctly, I would reread old entries and see the phrases, confirmations, and Scriptures that had guided me. Each one reminded me that God was still speaking, still leading, and still faithful, even when I couldn’t yet see the outcome.
Our journals help us stay faithful to what we have heard. They help us recognize the difference between wishful thinking and Spirit-led direction. When we keep returning to the page, we are not just processing thoughts. We are practicing the habit of listening and responding to God’s voice.
“While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, ‘Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.’ ” ~ Daniel 8:15–16
God brings understanding in His timing. He does not leave us to figure things out alone. He gives us His Spirit to help us discern what He is saying and to strengthen our faith as we walk it out one step at a time.
Truth 4: At the Appointed Time, God’s Plan Becomes Clear
And then, suddenly, everything changed.
After years of waiting, the impossible became possible. The timing aligned to put our house on the market, our home sold quickly, and within just two months, my family was living in the Southwest.
Looking back at my journals now, I can see how God had been preparing me all along. What once felt confusing now reads like a timeline of His faithfulness. Each page that once held uncertainty now testifies to His perfect timing.
That is what happens when we write down what we sense God saying and stay faithful through the waiting. When the appointed time comes, we can trace His hand through every step of the journey.
Closing Reflection: Keep Trusting God’s Timing
Daniel’s vision in chapter 8 wasn’t meant to confuse him. It was meant to strengthen his faith for what was to come. God often reveals His plans in pieces so that we will learn to depend on Him for the process, not just the outcome.
If you are in a season that doesn’t make sense yet, keep journaling. Keep praying. Keep showing up with your pen and your faith.
You may not understand His plan right now, but when you look back, you will see that He was leading you all along, one faithful step at a time.
Want help noticing God’s timing in your own journaling?
Download The Holy Spirit Journaling Checklist here, a simple guide to help you recognize what God might be revealing now that will make sense later.
