What If the Thing That Isn’t Working… Is Working Better Than You Think?

Let’s be honest: some seasons just don’t make sense.

You’ve prayed. You’ve obeyed. You’ve done the right thing. And yet… the door stays closed. The numbers don’t add up. The relationship still feels broken. The dream you’ve nurtured quietly for years seems farther away than ever.

And in those moments, it’s easy to wonder: What am I doing wrong?

But what if the very thing that “isn’t working” right now… is actually working perfectly?

God Doesn’t Think Like We Do

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
— Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

In our human thinking, progress looks like movement. Success looks like visibility. Growth feels good. But God's ways are often wrapped in mystery. He doesn’t measure success the way we do.

Sometimes what looks like a setback is actually a setup.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers — a betrayal that could’ve destroyed him. But what looked like the end of his purpose was actually the beginning of his promotion. Years later, Joseph would say to those same brothers:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
— Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

God was working behind the scenes. In the prison. In the waiting. In the silence. Joseph didn’t see it at the time — but heaven was orchestrating something far greater than he could imagine.

What if God is doing the same for you?

It Might Be Working Perfectly

That closed door? It might be protecting you.
That detour? It might be developing you.
That unanswered prayer? It might be positioning you for something beyond your wildest dreams.

Romans 8:28 doesn’t say that all things are good — but it does promise that God works all things together for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Even the confusing things.
Even the painful things.
Even the seasons that feel like failure.

Your Faith Is Not Wasted

God never wastes a wilderness. He never wastes a waiting season. He never wastes your tears.

What if what looks like a delay is actually divine alignment?

What if the job that didn’t come through is making space for your true calling?
What if the relationship that ended is clearing room for healing, growth, and God’s best?
What if the dream that didn’t “take off” is being reworked into something far more powerful — and Kingdom-purposed?

God is not withholding from you. He’s weaving something beautiful — even if right now, all you see are tangled threads.

Trust the Bigger Story

There’s a reason Scripture says we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Because sight can mislead you. But faith roots you in truth — and the truth is: God is good. He is for you. And He is always working.

“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 (NKJV)

Friend, God is not just planning a little improvement. He’s preparing a divine outcome — one that serves His glory and your good.

You may not see it yet. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Keep Trusting. Keep Praying. Keep Walking.

This season isn’t wasted. It might be the exact ingredient God is using to produce a result you could never have engineered on your own.

What if the thing that isn’t working… is actually working better than you ever dreamed?

Ask yourself this powerful question:

If I TRULY believed that God LOVES me and is working behind the scenes, how would my thinking change? What would I think instead?

Then ask yourself:

How would my ACTIONS change? 

How would my HEART change? 

Friends, listen, I have BEEN in that place where nothing is working and there is nothing on the horizon to suggest it might work soon. It feels hopeless and DARK. I couldn’t even FIND the horizon. In those moments, asking ourselves “Why isn’t this working?” is focusing on MORE darkness. If we want to overcome, we HAVE to change what we focus on. 

Ask Him to help you think more like Him so you can recognize what He’s doing behind the scenes. Ask Him to open your eyes. Ask Him to help you TRUST. 

In passionate purpose,

Dorothy