Revelation 4:1 KJV ~ “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
Good morning, Sunshine; if there is one thing I have learned about God, it is that He knows how to continue a conversation long after you think it is finished. He has a way of taking what appears to be the closing chapter and turning it into the beginning of another revelation. He often allows you to think you have reached the end of a lesson only to reveal that there was another layer hidden beneath the surface all along. Just when you think He has finished speaking, He uncovers another dimension. Just when you think you understand what He is saying, He opens another door. That is exactly what happened with this giraffe journey.
Honestly, I thought I was finished with the giraffes. I believed we had reached the conclusion of the lesson and gathered everything God wanted us to receive. I thought the revelation had been exhausted, the message had been delivered, and it was time to move into the next devotional series, Wax On, Wax Off. In my mind, the giraffe season was ending and a new season was beginning. Yet the more I prepared to move on, the more I sensed the Lord saying, “Not yet. There is still more.”
That is how God works. He rarely reveals everything at once because revelation is designed to deepen relationship. If God handed you the entire blueprint in a single moment, you would stop seeking Him for the next step. Instead, He reveals truth progressively. He teaches line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. Every layer of revelation creates an invitation to come closer. Every lesson creates an opportunity for growth. Every insight becomes a doorway to greater understanding. God is not merely interested in informing you; He is interested in transforming you.
What began as a simple observation became a spiritual invitation. What appeared to be a lesson about an animal became a lesson about identity, purpose, growth, and perspective. What seemed like a short devotional became a journey of transformation. The giraffe was never just a giraffe. It became a living illustration of what God was trying to reveal about your life.
The Lord first introduced us to the difference between the turtle and the giraffe. Through that comparison, He revealed a powerful spiritual truth: where you stand determines what you see. The turtle remains close to the ground and can only see what is immediately around it. The giraffe stands higher and sees farther. Through that image, God began showing us that many of our frustrations were not because He had stopped moving. The frustration came because we had exhausted the level where we were standing. We had seen everything there was to see from that perspective, yet we were asking God for more while refusing to move higher.
Then God shifted the conversation to appetite. The giraffe does not spend its life feeding low. It reaches upward. It stretches toward nourishment. It feeds from places that require elevation. Through that lesson, God challenged us to evaluate what we were feeding our spirits. He showed us that if we wanted higher revelation, we needed a higher appetite. We cannot constantly consume fear, negativity, offense, doubt, and distraction while expecting to walk in deeper dimensions of faith. The appetite of the giraffe became a reminder that what feeds you eventually forms you.
The Lord then began speaking through the giraffe’s long gestation period. A giraffe carries its calf for fourteen to fifteen months before giving birth. Through that image, God taught us that long carrying does not mean forgotten carrying. Some promises take longer because they carry greater purpose. Some assignments require more preparation because they are connected to greater responsibility. Through this lesson, God reminded us that development is not delay. Hidden seasons are not wasted seasons. Just because the promise has not emerged does not mean it is not growing.
Then came one of the most powerful revelations of the entire journey. The giraffe gives birth standing up. When that truth was revealed, it felt as though the Holy Spirit illuminated an entirely new dimension of understanding. God began speaking clearly to our hearts that the next thing He births through us is coming while we are standing. Not after life becomes easy. Not after every challenge disappears. Not after every prayer is answered. But while we remain standing in faith, standing in obedience, standing in trust, and standing in expectation. The birth is not waiting for perfect conditions; it is waiting for persistent faith.
The Lord then took us deeper into the birth process itself. The newborn giraffe enters the world through a six-foot drop to the ground. At first glance, that impact appears harsh and unnecessary. Yet the impact serves a divine purpose. It breaks the umbilical cord, ruptures the sac, and triggers the first breath. Through that lesson, God showed us that some impacts in our lives were never intended to destroy us. Some disappointments were introductions. Some setbacks were activations. Some painful seasons became the very things that pushed us into a new dimension of life, growth, and purpose.
Then came the lesson of the wobble. The newborn giraffe does not immediately walk with confidence. It struggles. It shakes. It falls. It gets back up. It tries again. Through that image, God revealed that growth often looks awkward before it looks powerful. Wobbling is not failure. Wobbling is development. Wobbling is evidence that you are learning how to function in a place you have never occupied before. The enemy wants you to see weakness, but God wants you to recognize growth. The very thing you call struggle may actually be proof that you are becoming.
As the lessons continued, the Lord began bringing everything together. The giraffe was never simply about standing higher. It was never simply about seeing farther. It was never simply about carrying, birthing, impact, or growth. Every lesson pointed back to one central truth: God was teaching you about yourself. He was teaching you about who you are becoming. He was showing you how He develops His people. He was revealing how He stretches us before He expands us, prepares us before He promotes us, and changes our vision before He changes our circumstances.
And just when I thought the lesson was over, God showed me there was still more. There was more to understand about standing. More to understand about carrying. More to understand about becoming. More to understand about what happens after you come higher. The giraffe kept speaking because God was not finished teaching. The revelation kept expanding because transformation was still taking place.
That is why Wax On, Wax Off had to wait. Not because the next lesson is unimportant, but because God was still developing this one. He was still revealing what happens after He calls you higher. He was still teaching what it means to carry purpose, endure impact, survive the wobble, and remain standing. The giraffe taught us how to come higher. The next series will teach us how God develops what He has already elevated.
So before we leave this season, let this truth settle deeply into your heart. Every time you see a giraffe, remember what God has been saying to you. Let it remind you that you were created to see higher, think higher, trust higher, carry higher, and stand higher. Let it remind you that God is still stretching you because He intends to expand you. Let it remind you that growth is still taking place even when you cannot see it. Let it remind you that you are becoming everything He showed you throughout this journey.
Most of all, let every giraffe remind you that you were never meant to stay where you started. God has been calling you higher all along. And now that you have learned the lesson, He is preparing to show you what comes next.
So, hang on, Sunshine. Wax On, Wax Off is coming soon. But in the meanwhile, there is still more to understand about the giraffe, and there is still more to understand about the person God is helping you become!
Good Morning Sunshine! The Next Thing You Birth Will Come While You’re Standing; So, Don’t Sit Down In The Season That God Is Calling You To Stand Up In!
Ephesians 6:13 NKJV ~ “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
When the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the church at Ephesus, he was speaking to believers who understood opposition, uncertainty, hardship, and spiritual warfare. He knew there would be seasons when they would feel pressured from every direction. Yet in the middle of teaching them about the armor of God, Paul repeatedly emphasized one action: stand. He did not tell them to run from every battle. He did not tell them to surrender when circumstances became difficult. He did not tell them to abandon their position when opposition increased. Instead, he taught them that there are seasons when the greatest expression of faith is remaining firmly planted in what God has spoken. The instruction to stand was not passive; it was an active declaration of trust. Paul understood that standing often becomes the bridge between promise and fulfillment.
Sunshine, one of the most powerful revelations hidden within the life of the giraffe is not simply how high it stands or how far it sees. The revelation that continues to minister to me is how it gives birth. Unlike many animals that lower themselves to the ground during labor, the giraffe remains standing. The more I reflected on that reality, the more I sensed the Holy Spirit drawing my attention to something deeper. God began showing me that the posture of the giraffe during birth is a picture of faith. It is a picture of endurance. It is a picture of remaining steadfast while something valuable is being brought forth. Through this image, God reveals that some of the most significant things He does in your life will emerge while you are still standing.
There are things inside of you that did not arrive yesterday. Some of what you are carrying has been developing for years beneath the surface of your life. There are prayers you prayed long ago that are still connected to your future. There are promises God whispered into your spirit that have not yet fully manifested. There are lessons He has been teaching you through victories, disappointments, waiting seasons, and unexpected turns. You may not always recognize it, but God has been working in places no one else can see. He has been developing wisdom through experience, strength through adversity, and faith through uncertainty. What feels ordinary today may actually be preparation for something extraordinary tomorrow.
Do you know that the most difficult parts of carrying something from God is that development often happens in hidden places. There are seasons when you know God is doing something, but you cannot yet explain it. You feel the stirring, but you cannot yet see the outcome. You sense movement, but there is little visible evidence. During those moments, the enemy will try to convince you that nothing is happening. Yet the giraffe teaches you that hidden does not mean inactive. Just because others cannot see it does not mean God is not nurturing it. Just because the promise has not emerged does not mean it is not growing. Heaven is often doing its deepest work where human eyes cannot reach.
Think about a seed planted beneath the soil. For a season, everything appears unchanged above the ground. Yet beneath the surface, roots are forming, strength is developing, and life is emerging. If you judged the seed solely by what you could see, you might conclude that nothing was happening. Yet growth was occurring the entire time. The same principle applies to your spiritual life. God often develops roots before He reveals fruit. He establishes character before He releases influence. He builds endurance before He opens doors. What appears to be delay may actually be divine preparation.
Perhaps that is why this season feels different for you. Certain conversations no longer satisfy you the way they once did. Certain fears no longer control you the way they once did. Certain habits, mindsets, and limitations no longer fit where God is taking you. You may not fully understand why, but your spirit recognizes that something is changing. God is enlarging your capacity. He is expanding your understanding. He is preparing you for dimensions that require a different level of maturity. What once felt comfortable now feels restrictive because you are growing beyond where you used to be.
The Lord showed me that many believers become discouraged because they expect growth to feel comfortable. They assume that if God is moving, everything should feel easy. Yet growth rarely arrives wrapped in comfort. Growth stretches before it strengthens. Growth challenges before it changes. Growth exposes weaknesses so that God can develop strength. Every time you ask God for more wisdom, more purpose, more influence, or more revelation, you are also asking Him to increase your capacity. The answer to your prayer may not arrive in the form you expected. Sometimes it arrives disguised as a season of preparation.
The giraffe’s long gestation period reminds you that weighty things require time. God is not careless with what He intends to sustain. He does not rush what He plans to establish. He understands that some promises require deeper roots before they can support greater fruit. What God is building in you is valuable. It carries purpose. It carries influence. It carries kingdom impact. That is why He refuses to release it prematurely. The longer process is often evidence of the greater assignment.
The enemy would love for you to mistake waiting for abandonment. He wants you to believe that because the process is taking longer than expected, God has forgotten you. He wants you to interpret silence as absence and delay as denial. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. If God has sustained you through the carrying season, it is because He remains committed to what He placed within you. His faithfulness has not changed. His promises have not expired. His plans have not been canceled. What He started, He still intends to complete.
Then comes the moment of birth. The moment when what has been hidden begins to emerge. The moment when what has been developing beneath the surface becomes visible. The moment when faith begins to meet fulfillment. What fascinates me is that the giraffe remains standing during this entire process. It does not collapse beneath the weight of labor. It does not retreat from the assignment. It remains steadfast. What a powerful picture of what God desires from His people. He is calling you to remain standing while purpose emerges.
Perhaps that describes your life right now. You are standing while carrying responsibilities. You are standing while healing from past wounds. You are standing while trusting God for answers that have not yet arrived. You are standing while serving others, even when you have your own needs. You are standing while believing for breakthroughs you cannot yet see. And the Lord wants you to know that none of it is being overlooked. Every prayer matters. Every act of obedience matters. Every step of faith matters. Heaven sees your faithfulness.
The Lord showed me something beautiful about the giraffe. It does not wait until after the birth to stand. It stands before the birth arrives. What if that is exactly what God is asking of you? What if He is asking you to stand before the answer appears? What if He is asking you to stand before the healing is complete, before the door opens, before the provision arrives, and before the breakthrough manifests? Standing before the outcome is one of the purest expressions of faith. It is believing God because of who He is rather than because of what you see.
I want to encourage you to not sit down emotionally when God is calling you to stand spiritually. Do not surrender your hope because the process feels long. Do not abandon your faith because the journey feels difficult. The very fact that you are carrying something from God is evidence that He trusted you with it. The very fact that you are still standing is evidence that He is sustaining you. You may feel weary at times, but His grace remains sufficient. You may feel stretched, but His strength remains available. You may feel uncertain, but His promises remain secure.
Today, I heard the Lord saying, “Keep standing.” Stand in faith when circumstances challenge you. Stand in hope when answers seem delayed. Stand in obedience when the path feels unclear. Stand in trust when the outcome remains unseen. Stand in expectation because God is still working beneath the surface. The next thing He births through you is not coming after you quit. It is not coming after you give up. It is not coming after you retreat. It is coming while you are standing. And because God is faithful, what He promised will emerge in its appointed season.
Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus, I come before You with a grateful heart. Thank You for every promise You have placed within me. Thank You for every dream, every vision, every assignment, and every purpose You have entrusted to my care. Thank You for carrying me through seasons that I did not understand and for sustaining me when I felt weak. Even when I could not see what You were doing, You were still working behind the scenes. Today, I acknowledge that You are the Author and Finisher of my faith, and I place my complete trust in You. Lord, teach me how to trust You while I carry what You have placed inside of me. Help me remember that hidden seasons are not wasted seasons. When I cannot see visible progress, remind me that You are still developing something valuable beneath the surface. Give me patience when the process feels long and faith when the journey feels uncertain. Let me find peace in knowing that Your timing is perfect and that You never rush what You intend to sustain. Father, forgive me for every time I confused delay with denial. Forgive me for every moment I questioned Your timing because it did not match my expectations. Forgive me for allowing frustration, fear, or discouragement to cloud my perspective. Help me trust Your wisdom above my own understanding. Teach me to believe that You know exactly what You are doing, even when I cannot see the full picture. Let my confidence be rooted in Your character rather than in my circumstances. Lord, increase my capacity. Expand my faith, my wisdom, my understanding, and my spiritual maturity. Prepare me not only to receive what You have promised but also to steward it well once it arrives. Stretch me where I need to be stretched and strengthen me where I need to be strengthened. Develop within me the character required to sustain the blessings You desire to release. Let me become the person You need me to be for the season You are preparing me to enter. Father, strengthen me while I stand. Strengthen me when answers seem delayed and when circumstances challenge my faith. Strengthen me when I feel weary from carrying responsibilities and waiting on promises. Let Your grace sustain me when my strength feels limited. Help me remain steadfast when the process feels difficult and remind me that You are always near. Let me stand firmly in the confidence that You are working all things together for my good. Lord, help me see waiting differently. Teach me that preparation is often disguised as delay and that development is often hidden before it becomes visible. Open my eyes to recognize Your hand at work in every season of my life. Help me stop viewing waiting as inactivity and begin viewing it as a time of growth, preparation, and strengthening. Let me trust that every moment serves a divine purpose. Father, protect what You have placed within me. Guard my faith from doubt, my hope from discouragement, and my vision from distraction. Protect my heart from becoming weary and my mind from becoming overwhelmed. Keep me focused on Your promises and not on my problems. Let Your truth remain louder than every fear, every lie, and every negative voice that attempts to pull me away from Your purpose. Lord, teach me how to stand before the answer arrives. Help me trust You before the breakthrough appears. Let me worship You before the provision manifests and praise You before the miracle becomes visible. Develop within me a faith that is not dependent upon what I see but anchored in who You are. Help me remain confident that if You promised it, You will bring it to pass. Father, remind me daily that You have not forgotten me. Remind me that what You spoke still stands and that Your promises remain secure. When discouragement tries to settle into my heart, let hope arise. When fear tries to dominate my thoughts, let faith rise higher. When disappointment attempts to steal my expectation, remind me that You are still writing my story. Let me walk forward with confidence, knowing that You are faithful to complete what You started. And Father, today I make a declaration before Heaven. I will keep standing. I will stand in faith when circumstances challenge me. I will stand in obedience when the path feels unclear. I will stand in trust when the outcome remains unseen. I will stand in hope when the process feels long. I refuse to quit, retreat, or abandon what You have placed within me. I believe that the next thing You birth through me is coming while I am standing. Thank You for sustaining me, strengthening me, and preparing me for what is ahead. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Nugget ~ Just as the giraffe gives birth while standing, God often brings forth purpose while you are still trusting, believing, growing, and waiting. Say this to yourself, I will not sit down in fear. I will not sit down in doubt. I will not sit down in discouragement. I will stand in faith. I will stand in trust. I will stand in obedience. I will stand in hope. Because what God placed within you is still alive, still growing, and still coming forth. The next thing God births through you is coming while you are am standing. The promise does not need perfect conditions to emerge. Keep standing, Sunshine. The birth is closer than you think.
Blessings…
Love, Dr. Jean…