An excerpt from Chapter 10 of Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God’s Purposes
There are seasons when God closes one chapter before He reveals the next. The familiar is behind you, but the future has not yet come fully into view. You know you cannot go back, yet you are not sure how to move forward. The old door is shut, the new one has not opened, and you find yourself standing in the tension between what was and what will be. That place can feel confusing, frustrating, and painfully slow, but it is not empty. God is at work in the hallway. He is not wasting the waiting. He is forming something in you, strengthening what must endure, exposing what cannot go with you, and preparing you for what lies ahead. The question is not only, “When will the next door open?” It is also, “Who is God making me while I wait?”
This is where many believers struggle most. We often survive the initial disruption only to grow weary in the long silence that follows. We endure the closed door, the loss, the move, or the sudden ending, but then the days begin to stretch out with no clear answer and no visible change. The crisis may be over, yet the new season has not begun, and it is in that prolonged uncertainty that discouragement starts whispering, impatience begins pushing, and faith is tested in ways dramatic moments never could. The hallway is not merely the space between two assignments. It is a place of formation, and if we learn how to live there faithfully, it can become holy ground.
The in-between is where God teaches us to walk without needing to see the entire road. It is where He deepens discernment, strips away false securities, and teaches us to depend upon His voice rather than visible momentum. Some of the deepest work of God happens where nothing appears to be happening. Roots grow in darkness. Seeds break open beneath the soil. Character is formed far from applause. There are seasons when heaven is doing more in you than around you, and the absence of visible change does not mean the absence of divine activity. What feels like delay may actually be preparation, and what appears to be inactivity may be the hidden work of God making you ready for what comes next.
How Do You Live in the Hallway?
Waiting can be harder than the moment everything changed.
When a door first closes, there are decisions to make and people to tell. You do what needs to be done. Then life grows quiet. You have time to wonder whether you missed something, whether you should try harder, or whether the next door will ever open.
I wrote this chapter because I know that place. I also know how tempting it is to measure God’s activity by what I can see. If nothing seems to be moving, I can assume nothing is happening. Yet Scripture gives us reason to keep seeking Him in seasons when the outcome remains hidden.
The challenge is to wait faithfully. Some of us respond to uncertainty by withdrawing. We stop doing the good that is already in front of us because we cannot see where it will lead. Others respond by forcing movement. We reach for any opportunity that promises relief from the discomfort of waiting.
Neither response requires much discernment. Faithful waiting does.
It may mean continuing to serve where you are while praying about where you may be called next. It may mean having an honest conversation you have avoided. It may mean grieving an ending instead of pretending you are ready to move on. And when the time comes, it may mean taking a clear next step without demanding to see every step after it.
So if you are in the hallway, ask God for more than an open door. Ask Him for wisdom to recognize His leading. Ask what needs your attention today. Ask Him to show you what you are carrying that cannot go with you into the next season.
You do not need to call every delay divine, and you do not need to pretend the waiting is easy. You can bring your disappointment and your questions to God honestly. Keep listening. Keep your heart open. Be faithful with the light you have.
The hallway may be a place where God prepares you for what comes next.
Read the Book and Join Me Live
If you are navigating a closed door or an unfamiliar season, I invite you to read Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God’s Purposes on Amazon. The book explores how we can recognize God’s ways and follow Him through changes we did not expect.
I also invite you to Breakthrough: When God Redraws the Map, a free five-day live challenge, October 19–23, 2026. Based on Unsettled, it is an opportunity to set aside time to seek God and work through five steps together:
Discern whether you are facing resistance or redirection.
Release what has ended.
Trust God as familiar sources of support change.
Move beyond fear and hesitation.
Advance into your next season, even without the entire map.
Free registration includes live biblical teaching, reflection exercises, access to our private Facebook group, seven-day access to the recordings, and daily encouragement.
Register free for the five-day challenge. Space is limited.
If you are between here and there, I would be glad to walk through these five days with you.
Glenn Bleakney