By the time I left Doha, something in me had shifted.
Not dramatically.
Not in a way I could fully explain.
But I knew I wasn’t the same.
And yet, I knew this: God wasn’t finished with me.
Not a Completion — A Beginning
There’s a temptation to think that moments like that are the end of something.
But I’m learning that with God, they are often just the beginning of something.
Because not everything God does in you is immediate transformation.
Some things are seeds.
Scripture reminds us: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” — Philippians 1:6
Not instant completion.
But ongoing work.
Something Was Planted in Me
I can’t say I left Doha fully surrendered. I wasn’t.
But something had been planted.
A deeper awareness of God.
A quieter hunger for Him.
A new sensitivity to His presence.
It wasn’t loud. But it was real. And it stayed with me.
God Doesn’t Rush What He Is Building
One thing I’m learning is that God is not rushed.
We are.
But He isn’t.
He is more interested in what lasts than what happens quickly.
So instead of forcing instant change, He begins with something small. Something easy to overlook.
A seed.
The Seed Starts Working Quietly
At first, it doesn’t look like much.
Life continues.
Routines continue.
You still feel like yourself.
But quietly, something is shifting.
Your desires begin to change.
Your sensitivity increases.
Your awareness of God deepens.
Jesus describes this like a seed growing over time: “All by itself the soil produces grain… though he does not know how” — Mark 4:26–27
Not all at once.
But steadily.
It Was Never Just About One Moment
Looking back, I realise Doha wasn’t the transformation.
It was part of the process.
A moment God used to plant something
He would continue working on long after I left.
Because God rarely finishes in one encounter.
He starts.
Then He builds.
God Is Still Working
And I think that’s where I am right now.
Not at arrival.
Not at perfection.
Not at full surrender.
But in the middle of God still shaping what He planted. And that is actually comforting.
Because it means I’m still in His hands.
Still being formed.
Still being guided.
Closing Thought
Sometimes we expect God to finish what He starts immediately.
But more often, He plants something in us
and develops it over time.
And I am still in that process.
Closing Prayer
Father, Thank You that You don’t abandon what You start in me.
Thank You for every seed You have planted in my heart.
Help me to be patient with Your process in my life.
Teach me to trust You in the in-between seasons.
And continue shaping me into who You are calling me to become.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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