When You Can’t See God Working

Velany Rodrigues reflects on how the story of John the Baptist can help us learn to wait well when we receive no answer to our prayers. 

When our daughter was three, we enrolled her in a summer camp. The kind couple who ran the camp had a mini-garden. Potted plants of all kinds grew happily together in this little space.

Always interested in planting something new, my husband was delighted to receive a few fern seeds as a gift from them. He eagerly planted them in a pot, watered them, and watched every morning as we sat sipping our chai.

He waited for the little shoots to poke their tips above the soil. Nothing. He waited some more. Still nothing. Six months went by. I suggested that perhaps we should use the pot for another plant.

You see, when I invest time in something, I like to see results.

But surely, it’s not just me. Our world prizes impact, outcomes, and numbers, and expects these almost instantaneously. But what if we don’t get those results? Those answers? 

What happens when you've been doing everything you can — praying, serving, forgiving, teaching, trusting — but nothing seems to be happening?

No little plant breaking through the soil.
No change of heart.
No miracle.
No clear answer from Heaven.

Waiting in the Dark

Are you in that space today? Maybe you’re asking, “Is this it? Is this what I had been working/praying/waiting for? Is there no more?”

One of Scripture’s greatest figures had a similar question: John the Baptist.

 A voice crying out, preparing hearts, preparing the way, giving it his all. Yet his part in God's great plan ended before He could see the work of salvation accomplished on the cross.

In fact, he did not even see Christ in action, sowing seeds in the very soil he had prepared. He had given everything to prepare the way. And now, he sat alone on the cold prison floor, waiting in the dark, hearing second-hand reports about Jesus. 

So he sent a question to Jesus.

 “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

John the Baptist, the firebrand prophet, was worried. Perhaps. 
But Jesus didn’t rebuke him. Instead, the gentle Savior reminded John of God's promises through the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” (Matthew 11: 4-5)

In other words: Yes, John. Trust in My plan. I am working. Even if you can’t see it from where you are right now.

John's question is familiar. It brings back to me all the times I've waited in the dark and wondered, "Lord, when is my answer coming? Aren't you sending one?" And each time, even when I couldn't yet see it, He was working.

My part was to ask and to wait with hope, always with hope. 

At Work in the Quiet

So when you're wondering about that prayer you made weeks or months or even years ago, look at John, who waited. And whose work bore rich fruit. Know this: Even when the answers don’t come and nothing seems to move, God is at work in the quiet. Trust Him.

When you still feel hurt, He is healing.
When that relationship still seems broken, He is restoring.
When the doors of a heart appear hard and closed, He is at work within.

Oh, and that pot? The empty one, which I suggested would be better off used for something else? Well, my husband, being more patient than I am, waited.

About eight months after the seeds had been sown, a baby fern poked its head through the soil. It went on to grow into a verdant lace that ran around our grill.

While nothing was happening above the ground, roots were growing beneath.

My utter astonishment at seeing green spring forth after months of nothing was met with a thoughtful glance by my husband.
"At the appointed time," he whispered, remembering the words of Scripture.

So if you’re feeling discouraged and waiting in the dark, remember all that He has done before. All the promises He has kept. And know that even when you don’t see the fruit, the ground beneath is teeming with change and God is working in the quiet.

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Copyright 2026 Velany Rodrigues
Images: Canva