Imagine you are a bullet. And imagine you are sitting in a chamber of a gun, waiting to be shot. Or imagine you are an arrow, waiting to be loosed from the bow. Or if you prefer a less violent metaphor, imagine you are a drop of water, waiting to flow out of the spigot when the faucet is turned on.

I’ve felt like that several times in my life. Never before have I felt it so strongly as I have over the past number of months. I call it waiting for God to release you. I think in many cases He chooses to hold us back even as He reveals His heart for us and the destiny (or the assignment as Lance Wallnau might put it) He has called us to fulfill.

We strain, we agonize, we shout, we cry out: God, why aren’t you releasing me? Why can’t I move forward? What’s holding me back? Why hasn’t the opportunity emerged? Why hasn’t the timing come together? And God says: wait, just a little longer. Wait.

My parents were trying to buy a townhouse many years ago when my brother and I were little. They found a beautiful place nearby our tiny little condo. It was two stories, it had big bedrooms and a lovely interior, and it was located in a good neighborhood. What could be bad about that? But the deal fell through, for reasons I don’t recall offhand, and they were unable to move for a while. It was very upsetting, and my mom in particular was just in tears about the whole thing — mad that she couldn’t get the place she wanted.

Not long afterwards, we moved into a townhouse up here in Santa Rosa, and it was a place that served us well for several years. God did indeed provide — but here’s the kicker. It turned out the homes in that development that my parents wanted to move into so badly were poorly built and ended up having severe structural problems that cost the owners dearly. If we’d “pushed” God into releasing us to move out of His perfect timing, it wouldn’t have been pleasant.

So keep on praying, yes, keep on asking God to release you. Keep on asking God to take you to the next level. But don’t be upset if He says to wait. Don’t be dismayed if His timing is just a little ways off still. It’s OK. Your life is important right now too. Enjoy it and live it like a follower of Jesus.

As it turns out, God did release me, in late May. It’s now the middle of July, and I’m only just starting to see what He’s actually doing about it. It’s very cool, but totally and completely unexpected. I’ll share more with you in the days ahead. Don’t give up.