The last three and a half months have been the hardest months of my life. They have also been some of the most transformative months of my life. I graduated college, watched my mom get diagnosed with and beat cancer, and finished my first semester of graduate school.

A few weeks ago, when I was sitting at my desk, wanting to give up completely, God dropped something into my spirit: “Don’t place a period where God has placed a comma and don’t place a comma where God has placed a period.” It was a lot to take in. I had never heard this before but after doing a quick Google search (of course), I realized it was a quote that has been referred to quite a lot. “What does this mean?” I thought.

While we often hear to follow the Lord’s call and to trust, leaning not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6), what happens when we are standing at a crossroads, uncertain of the next step to take, and feel as though we are not hearing from God? In a world that never seems to slow down, where the constant rush can make it tough to find a moment of stillness, God’s wisdom reminds us to: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

At times, when we feel as though we lack a sense of communication from God and it feels like His response is taking longer than expected, we tend to default, pursuing our own desires and decisions. We don’t want to wait for an answer, so we create our own, which can lead us down roads we were never meant to go down.

Sometimes being still is the only way to truly hear what God is telling us. Trust me – this is something that I constantly struggle with. Impatience can truly diminish what God is trying to do through us if we do not listen. Throughout the past several months, many people have told me that God was showing others His strength through my weakness. It sounds great and noble until you are the one that He is working in and through doing this.

Through these months though I have learned a lot of things about myself and about God. Sometimes He answers our prayers right away, sometimes it takes months or years to see Him bring them to fruition. Regardless, we are called to remain faithful, trusting that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

If you are holding on to that dream that God has placed in your heart, afraid that it is too late or not the “right time,” remember this: don’t place a period where God has placed a comma. Don’t give up on that dream. The same is true for those pushing hard to sustain something – be it a job, a relationship, or a dream – yet sensing it does not align with God’s plan for you. In these cases, resist the urge to place a comma where God has distinctly placed a period.

May this inspire others to embrace patience, remain steadfast in faith, trust in the unfolding beauty of the journey’s God has placed us on, and encourage us to remain still and know He alone is God and He is good.