A Few Months Ago…

I sat across from someone I deeply respect, let’s call him. He’s the kind who carries quiet authority; the kind whose presence commands a room without raising his voice. But that day? He looked weary. Not physically, spiritually. “I don’t get it,” he said softly. “I’ve said yes to God again. But nothing is moving. I keep getting overlooked for assignments I’m more than ready for. I feel… shelved.” I leaned in and asked, “What if God isn’t shelving you? What if He’s securing you?” He blinked, confused.

So, I continued, “We cry for the crown, but God hands us a chisel. Maybe this isn’t delayed, maybe it’s divine design. God’s not denying your gift; He’s refining the man.” His eyes filled with tears. “So, you’re saying the making is the assignment?” “Yes,” I said quietly. “Before God puts you over something, He makes sure He can trust what’s in you.” That conversation changed how I see process. Because sometimes it’s not about being ready for the world, it’s about being ready for God. And He doesn’t rush what He plans to last.

God’s Order: Making Before Commissioning

Let’s be clear: God is not in a rush to use what He hasn’t fully formed. From Genesis to Revelation, we see a consistent pattern in His process, formation before elevation, obscurity before visibility, wilderness before commissioning.

Let’s walk through it:

• Moses, He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace but spent 40 years in the desert learning the language of obscurity. He went from a prince to a shepherd. Why? Because God doesn’t send deliverers who don’t first know how to walk with the weight of the people, they’ll free (Exodus 3).
• David, He was anointed by the prophet Samuel, but he didn’t take the throne immediately. He went back to the fields. He played the harp for a troubled king. He hid in caves. He ran for his life. He was called “king” long before he wore a crown, because God was shaping a heart that could carry a nation (1 Samuel 16 → 2 Samuel 5).
• Jesus, The Messiah. The Word made flesh. Yet He spent 30 years in quiet surrender before 3½ years of public ministry. He grew in wisdom, stature, and favor in the secret place (Luke 2:52). If the Son of God was made in hiddenness before He was revealed, how much more should we honor the process?

The key: God’s making is always more about who you’re becoming than what you’ll do. Because when your character is formed in private, your calling won’t collapse in public.

Don’t despise the days that feel unnoticed. Don’t curse the cave season. The oil is forming. And when He finally says “go,” you’ll realize the wait was never wasted, it was a work of love.

Man’s Order: Commissioning Before Making

If God’s pattern is formation before elevation, man’s tendency is promotion before preparation.

We crave visibility. We want to see crowns before characters, stages before substance, and applause before authenticity.

That’s the danger of premature commissioning, when someone is placed in authority without the internal capacity to sustain it.

• We platform what God is still processing.
• We celebrate gifting where there’s no grounding.
• We mistake charisma for calling, and visibility for validation.

And it looks successful… until the weight comes. Then cracks start to show, because position without process leads to collapse.

History and headlines are full of names who rose too soon. But even more tragic are the silent ones, those who lost heart because they confused being hidden with being forgotten.

Culture says: “If you can go viral, you’re valid.”
Heaven says: “If you’re faithful in private, you’re trusted in public.”

This obsession with instant commissioning creates spiritual casualties, people burned out, bitter, or broken because they were exposed before they were established.

Think about it:

We want the mic, but not the making. We want influence, but skip intimacy. We want acceleration, but ignore accountability. But without depth, your gift can become your downfall. The assignment itself becomes a weight that crushes, not a mantle that empowers. Because when the crown comes before the cave, the calling can collapse.

That’s why God, in His mercy, sometimes withholds visibility, not to punish, but to protect. He loves you too much to let you skip the stretching.

When you let God make you first, He’ll trust you with what others are still chasing.

The Divine Contrast: Roots Before Fruits

God’s rhythm is always formation before elevation. Roots before fruits. Identity before influence. Depth before display.

But man’s rhythm? The opposite:
“Show us what you can do, even if you haven’t been shaped yet.”

This is the divine contrast:

God says: “I will make you into something before I reveal you.” Culture says: “If you can market it, we’ll celebrate it, even if you’re still empty inside.”

But look at Scripture’s rhythm again:

• Moses wasn’t sent until he was stripped of self-reliance.
• David wasn’t crowned until he passed the cave test.
• Jesus wasn’t revealed until the Father said, “This is My beloved Son.”

Why? Because God’s priority isn’t the platform, it’s the person. He’s more interested in making you whole than making you known. John 15:16 reminds us: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”

What’s the secret to fruit that remains?

ROOTS.

So, if you’re in the quiet right now, don’t panic. You’re not being ignored. You’re being made.

Reflection Questions

Before we rush toward “what’s next,” let’s sit with “what’s now.”

1. Am I rushing the reveal before God finishes the making?
2. What has this hidden season exposed to my character?
3. Where am I clinging to visibility instead of intimacy?
4. Can I trust God’s timing, especially when I feel overlooked?

Firebrand Prayer of the Month

Lord,
Thank You for not rushing what You are refining. Thank You for valuing who I’m becoming more than how I appear. Forgive me for resenting the hidden places and measuring my journey by someone else’s clock. Help me to see this waiting season not as a punishment, but as Your preparation. Anchor my soul. Fortify my character. Shape me into someone who carries Your call with grace, not strain. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Until Next Time…

Firebrand Generation,
You are not behind.
You are not forgotten.
You are not delayed.

You are being made.

So let the leaves fall. Let the wind blow. Let the forming continue. We’ll meet again in Part Two: Firebrand Strategy — How to Thrive in the Hidden Season. Until then, stay grounded, stay yielded, stay on fire.

With you in the making,

Dora Mensah
Founder, Firebrand Global Network
Unmuzzled. Unashamed. Unstoppable