How to Trust God in the In-Between (Even When You Feel Like You Should Be Doing More)

It was a cold, sunny day in January when I took Ava for a walk. I was praying, asking God to help me trust Him in this season — this strange, in-between space where I know I need to rest, but I feel the pressure to produce. I feel the stress of needing to bring in money. And yet, God keeps whispering, rest.

How do you stop doing and start receiving when everything in you says you should be doing? The answer isn’t easy, but I believe it begins with trust — trust in God’s timing, trust in His provision, and trust in His love.

Learning to Receive

We’re not naturally good at receiving. We’ve been trained to hustle, to earn, to prove. But God’s Kingdom doesn’t operate on that currency. His love is not something we earn. His grace is not a reward for productivity. His provision doesn’t depend on our output. It’s all a gift — one we must learn to receive.

Resting While He Works

Receiving looks like surrender. Like letting go. Like planting seeds of obedience in faith and trusting God to bring the growth. It means doing what He asks in the natural and allowing Him to work supernaturally in His timing — not ours.

The world says, “Work harder. Produce more. Make it happen.” But the Spirit often says, “Be still. Wait. Trust Me.”

Learning from Abraham and Sarah

God reminded me that some of His most powerful work happens not in the doing but in the waiting. While we rest, He’s working — shaping us, healing us, teaching us. Sometimes, that internal transformation is the real harvest. It’s more significant than the external results we chase.

Trying to take control and make things happen on our own leads us into places God never intended. It’s the story of Abraham and Sarah all over again. God promised them a child, but when the waiting grew long and hard, they took matters into their own hands. The result was pain and complication — all because they didn’t trust God’s timing.

The Pain and Beauty of Rest

We have to be willing to endure the pain of growth — and yes, even the pain of rest. It sounds strange, but rest can feel painful when we’re addicted to striving. When we rest, we face our fears. We confront our need to control. But it’s also where we discover that God really is enough.

So today, I’m reminding myself — and maybe you too — to stop doing and start receiving. His love. His grace. His timing. His plan.

And I’m trusting that He will take care of both the work in me and the work through me.