Brewed Expectancy: Faith-Filled Waiting – Believing Before Seeing

☕ The Recipe for Expectancy

Imagine you’re following a recipe for your favorite dish. You’ve measured everything, mixed it just right, and put it in the oven. Now, all that’s left to do is wait.

But what if, before the timer goes off, you pull it out too soon? The dish isn’t fully baked. The flavors aren’t developed. It’s not ready.

That’s what happens when we rush God’s process—when we don’t let His timing unfold. We either take matters into our own hands, settle for something unfinished, or grow frustrated because the promise doesn’t look like what we expected.

But here’s the real tea: Expectancy requires faith, and faith requires trust.

☕ "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." – Hebrews 11:1

Faith Moves, Fear Freezes

God’s promises don’t just fall into our laps. They require movement. When God speaks a word over your life, it’s an invitation to trust Him, to step forward, to act in faith—even when you can’t see the full picture.

🎬 In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner tells his son:

"Don’t ever let somebody tell you… you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it. Period."

Chris didn’t have the resources. He didn’t have immediate access to success. But he had faith in something bigger than what he saw. He did the work and God did the rest.

🚶 He heard the call to something greater.
💡 He responded in faith.
🔑 He trusted the process.
🔥 And God responded.

That’s the recipe for expectancy:

1️⃣ You hear from God. 📖 Hebrews 11:8 – "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Abraham heard from God. He didn’t have all the details, but he knew he was being called to something greater.

2️⃣ You respond in faith. 📖 Hebrews 11:7 – "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." Noah didn’t wait for rain to start building the ark. He responded in faith, not sight.

3️⃣ You trust and obey. 📖 Hebrews 11:11 – "By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise." Sarah had to trust God's process even when her circumstances said the promise was impossible.

4️⃣ God responds. 📖 Hebrews 11:29 – "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." God made a way where there was no way—responding to faith with supernatural provision.

But here’s where many people struggle: You have the freedom to respond in either faith or fear. 

• If you respond in fear, steps 3 and 4 will look drastically different. You’ll either take a detour or end up with something completely outside of what God originally had for you.
• If you respond in faith, you’ll walk in obedience—even in the waiting, even when yet another mountain presents itself for you to climb. 

What Happens When We Skip Steps?

Let’s go back to that recipe analogy. What happens when you skip a step or change an ingredient? The dish doesn’t turn out right.

☕ If you don’t spend time with God, you won’t hear from Him.
☕ If you let fear dictate your actions, you won’t move in faith.
☕ If you refuse to trust and obey, you delay His response.

That’s why so many people get frustrated in the waiting season. They feel like God isn’t moving, but the truth is—He’s waiting on THEM to follow the process.

🚨 What if the delay isn’t because God is holding back, but because you haven’t responded in faith?

Using What You Know While You Wait for the Unknown

A key part of faith-filled expectancy is acting on what you already know before the unknown is revealed.

☕ "For we walk by faith, not by sight." – 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about trusting that God does. It’s believing before seeing.

• Think about Noah. He built the ark before there was ever a drop of rain. He heard from God, responded in faith, trusted and obeyed—and God responded.
• Think about Abraham. God told him to leave everything he knew and go to a land that he would be shown. He had no GPS, no five-year plan—just a word from the Lord. He heard from God, responded in faith, trusted and obeyed—and God responded.

And think about YOU. What is God calling you to do? What promise are you holding onto? Have you truly followed the recipe?

Because here’s the real tea: God’s response is always bigger than your request.

☕ "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." – Ephesians 3:20

So while you wait, work your faith. Use what you know, and trust that the unknown will be revealed in His perfect timing.

☕ The Real Tea: Truths to Sip on While You Wait

1. Faith is the First Ingredient

📖 Scripture: Hebrews 11:1 – "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

🔹 Before you see it, you must believe it. Faith is the first step to expectancy—without it, you’re just wishing.

🔹 Sip on this truth: Faith is acting on what God said, not what you see.

2. Fear Will Spoil the Recipe

📖 Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7 – "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."

🔹 Fear leads to hesitation, hesitation leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to delay.

🔹 Sip on this truth: Fear and faith cannot sit at the same table—choose wisely.

3. Trust is the Stirring Spoon

📖 Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 – "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

🔹 Even when you don’t understand, trust keeps you moving forward.

🔹 Sip on this truth: God’s plan doesn’t need your approval—just your obedience.

4. God’s Response is Always Bigger than the Request

📖 Scripture: Ephesians 3:20 – "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."

🔹 God’s response won’t always look like your request, but it will always be better.

🔹 Sip on this truth: What He has for you is greater than what you imagined.

☕ Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,

We thank You for the gift of faith—the ingredient that activates our promises. Your Word reminds us that we must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), so today, we choose to believe before we see.

We bind fear, doubt, and impatience in Jesus’ name, and we loose bold faith, unwavering trust, and obedience. We decree and declare that we will listen when You speak, move when You say go, and trust that Your plans will exceed our expectations.

Even when the outcome looks different than we imagined, we will trust that Your ways are higher, and Your promises never fail (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We declare that the recipe for expectancy—hearing from You, responding in faith, trusting and obeying, and waiting for Your response—will lead us straight into the fulfillment of Your promises.

We seal this in faith, knowing that You are an on-time God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.