Unprepared but Approved

Dear Friend,

Sometimes God will invite you into something before you feel ready for it.

Sometimes the things we pray for arrive in a package that doesn’t quite match our vision. Sometimes He will give you an opportunity that feels bigger than your preparation, ask you to take a step before you can see where it will lead, and sometimes all you’ll have is a word from Him and the choice to believe it.

All so that you can lean on Him, trust in Him, and not lean on your own understanding.

That has been one of the biggest lessons of this season for me.

Releasing. Surrendering. Trusting. Believing.

Believing in what I know His Word says and believing in what I know I heard Him say.

And honestly, that lesson came through a series of transitions I never would’ve made on my own, but it landed me with an approval I never expected: an approval to be a vendor at CityCon 2026.

It’s so crazy to think about, actually. I’ve been attending this conference since 2024 and never have I received a marketing email from them seeking vendors to apply for the event. I laughed and told God, “This is interesting. If I get it again Lord, I will apply.”

Well, I received it twice and still didn’t apply.

I didn’t apply not out of disobedience, but because I let my fears take over. The fear of no longer being in the background. But what I know to be true is if you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. And due to my comfort, I didn’t apply.

However, I have a sister that holds me accountable, and one day she called, and she didn’t call for anything but to specifically ask me if I applied to be a vendor. My response, “Not yet.” I listed all of my reasons, and all she said was “mmhmm,” and we got off the phone. Needless to say, her reaction stayed with me. So, I applied.

I told God, “God, I applied because I said I would, so do Your thing if it’s meant to be.”

The morning before I was due to leave my job, I got the email saying, “You’ve been approved to be a vendor.”

I was shocked.

Because…what, Lord?

I felt so unprepared.

But what I’ve realized is faith, agreement, and obedience are invitations into partnership with God. They position us to participate in what He is doing, even when we don’t yet understand how He is going to do it. It invites us to embrace who He’s called us to be.

I’m reading Luke, and in Luke 1, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her the word of the Lord, she was frightened. He calmed her, told her what was going to happen, and then Mary responded:

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Agreement and partnership.

She said that people would call her blessed because she was. In reality, we are too.

The definition of blessed is happy, fortunate, and well-off. Mary was these things because she believed what the Lord had told her. The Scripture says, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what He has spoken to her!”

But this isn’t just isolated to women. This is for all of His creation.

So, blessed is the one who believes that the Lord would fulfill what He has spoken to them.

The faith to believe that He can do the impossible.

The faith to believe He is still the God of signs and wonders.

The faith to believe He is exactly who He said He is.

That’s the kind of faith that allows us to partner with God and say, “I don’t know how you’re going to do this, but I trust you enough to move. I trust you enough to obey.”

I’ve partnered with God before, but every season of partnership looks different. Some seasons will require you to examine the level of faith you have in the One you serve.

A question I’ve had written down since last month is, “Do we believe in His name but not His power?”

I mean, do we really believe in the fullness of who He is? Sometimes, the greatest test isn’t if you believe God can do a thing; it’s believing He can still do it when He hasn’t done it yet.

If you’ve been waiting and praying for something for a long time and it hasn’t come to pass…

If you’ve been doing the work of the Lord and you don’t understand why it’s not looking like the vision, He gave you yet…

If you’re running a business the Lord told you to start and you don’t have the customer base you thought you would,

If you’re building, praying, or preparing and wondering when you’re going to see the fruit….

I say unto you, take heart, my friend and keep the faith, for in due time, His time, all things according to His will, will come to pass.

Let us pray:

Father God,

I thank you for the soul reading this. I thank you for their life, for their desire to be close to you, for their desire to partner with you. For their desire to obey you. Lord, I pray that we lean not on our own understanding or timing but trust in the fullness of yours. I pray that when you speak a thing, we hear and say, “let it be done to us according to your will.” I pray that every thought we have that goes against what you’ve said be torn down in the name of Jesus. I pray that every negative thought the enemy raises up, that you raise up 10,000 more. I pray that we believe in both your name and your power. Lord, I pray that we continue to release, surrender, trust, and believe in you for all the days of our lives, and I pray that we never stop taking that one faithful step at a time, knowing unprepared does not mean unapproved. Lord, I thank you for all that you are, I thank you for all that you’ve done, I thank you for what you haven’t done, and I thank you for all that you’re going to do. I pray that you continue to uphold your children with your righteous right hand and that you forever have favor upon us.

In Jesus’ mighty name I pray

Amen, Amen, and Amen.

From our heart to yours, with love and gratitude,

Epistle & Co.

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