Recovery journeys Perseverance Faith without immediate results
THE IN-BETWEEN SEASON ACTS 1 “Have you ever felt like you’re waiting for God to do something, but nothing seems to be happening?”
I’ve been thinking about what it must have felt like for the people who loved Jesus… in the days and weeks after the resurrection. We celebrate Easter as this powerful, victorious moment, and it is, but what came after wasn’t neat or simple. It was actually a very human, very uncertain time. Jesus had risen… but everything wasn’t suddenly clear. They had seen a miracle… but they were still confused. They believed… but some still doubted. They had hope… but they didn’t yet know what to do next.
In Acts, Jesus tells them to wait. Just wait. No timeline. No detailed plan. Just… wait. And I imagine that space, the in-between, felt uncomfortable. Maybe even unsettling. Because we all know that feeling, don’t we? That place where something has changed… but not everything. Where healing has begun… but it’s not complete. Where you know God is working… but you can’t quite see how it’s all going to come together.
That’s exactly where the disciples were. And honestly… it’s where so many of the women we serve are. And if I’m honest, it’s where I am too. There’s this moment in John where Thomas says, “I want to believe… but I need to see it.” And I think sometimes I can relate to that more than I want to admit. I want to see progress. I need to see glimpses of transformation. But then there are setbacks… hard days… questions… And somewhere inside I think, “God, I believe… but help me where I’m still struggling.”
And what I love is that Jesus didn’t reject Thomas for that. He met him right there. And then there’s Peter. After everything he had experienced, the miracles, the resurrection, he says, “I’m going fishing.” He goes back to what was familiar. Not because he didn’t love Jesus… but because he didn’t quite know what to do with everything he had been through. And I think that’s such an honest picture of the human heart. Because how often do we see that?
Women who have taken steps forward… Who have experienced something real… And then, in moments of uncertainty or overwhelm, feel the pull to go backward. And yet—Jesus met Peter right there on the shore. Not with condemnation. But with invitation.
“Do you love me? Then let’s move forward.”
And one of my favorite moments is on the road to Emmaus in Luke. They’re walking, talking, trying to make sense of everything, and Jesus is literally right there with them… and they don’t recognize Him. And I think about that here. Because so much of what happens at the Women’s Refuge doesn’t always look dramatic or immediate. It looks like: a conversation a small breakthrough a moment of honesty a quiet decision to try again And it can feel ordinary. But that doesn’t mean God isn’t right in the middle of it.
Sometimes we only recognize His presence when we look back. So if there’s one thing I think we can take from the disciples in that season, it’s this: God does some of His most powerful work in the in-between. In the waiting. In the uncertainty. In the slow, unfolding process. Not just in the miracle moment… but in everything that comes after. And the work you all are doing here, it lives in that space. You are showing up in the in-between for these women. You are walking with them in the confusion, the doubt, the setbacks, the small victories.
And whether it always feels like it or not… God is there. In the conversations. In the patience. In the perseverance. In the love that keeps showing up. So today, maybe the encouragement is simple: If things feel unclear… you’re not doing it wrong. If progress feels slow… God is still working. If faith feels mixed with questions… you’re in good company. Because that’s exactly where the disciples were. And that’s exactly where Jesus met them.
Let’s pray: Lord, Thank You that You don’t only meet us in the big, clear, victorious moments, but also in the quiet, uncertain ones. Help us to trust You in the waiting… to recognize You in the ordinary… and to keep showing up with faith, even when we don’t see the full picture. Strengthen us in the work You’ve called us to at the Women’s Refuge, and remind us that nothing done in love is ever wasted. Amen.