Thanksgiving in the Chapters God Hasn’t Released Yet

There’s a tension that comes with waiting on God, especially when you know something is ready but you have to wait. I’ve been living in that tension for months as I wait for my book to officially release. The chapters are written, the prayers have been prayed, the work has been poured out, the first copies are in my hands, and yet, the release date is still sitting in God’s hands, not mine.

Maybe you’ve felt that tension too. Maybe you’re in a season where you know God has been writing something in your life, but the pages haven’t turned yet. Maybe you can feel that something is finished in you. Maybe it’s healing, progress, or growth, but no one else can see it yet.

And as Thanksgiving approaches, a question I’ve gotten asked a lot is, “How do you express gratitude when you’re living in chapters God hasn’t released yet?”

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When I first finished my book, I imagined this season would feel celebratory. I pictured holding the first printed copy in a store, sharing it with family and friends, and finally letting readers step into the story that truly changed me.

But God had a different timeline.

Instead of celebration, He invited me into something quieter. Learning to thank Him before the release… before the breakthrough.

It’s the same lesson so many of us face daily. We thank God easily when the prayer is answered, when the relationship is restored, when the opportunity comes, when the healing arrives, when the long-awaited moment finally happens. But giving thanks before anything shifts? That’s a different kind of faith.

Because the unreleased chapters, those quiet, hidden, unfinished places, are still holy ground.

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There’s something beautiful in waiting that we often forget. For some of us, the delays hit in mental and emotional places we thought were healed.

The anxiety of not knowing.

The discouragement of feeling stuck.

The frustration of wanting to move forward but being held back by things outside your control.

The ache of wondering if the breakthrough will really come.

And yet, it’s here, right here, that God forms a deeper kind of gratitude. Not gratitude for the outcome, but gratitude for His presence. Not gratitude because we’ve received what we wanted, but gratitude because He’s preparing us for what’s coming.

It’s the same lesson my book keeps teaching me:

Sometimes the Lord finishes something in your heart before He releases it in your life.

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When I look at Scripture, I see a pattern. God often calls people to thank Him before the miracle.

The walls of Jericho fell after the people shouted praise.

Jesus thanked the Father before multiplying the loaves.

Paul and Silas worshiped in chains before the prison doors opened.

Thanksgiving is not just the response to the breakthrough; it’s often the precursor to it. So this year, my gratitude sounds a little different:

“Lord, thank You for what You’re preparing, even though I can’t see it yet.”

“Thank You for the story You’re writing, even though it’s still unfolding.”

“Thank You for the timing, I don’t understand, but I choose to trust.”

“Thank You for every unreleased chapter having a purpose.”

This isn’t passive waiting; it’s active trust.

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You might be waiting on your own “release…”

a season of healing,

a relationship breakthrough,

a sense of direction,

a job opportunity,

a restored mindset,

a prayer you’ve prayed for years.

And maybe it feels like God is holding the page still. Like the chapter is ready, but life won’t turn.

Like you’re prepared for the next season, but everything around you is paused.

Can I encourage you?

You are not behind.

You are not forgotten.

You are not overlooked.

You are simply living in the space where God develops depth.

And He is building something in this chapter that will matter in the next.

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This Thanksgiving, my gratitude isn’t rooted in what has already happened; it’s rooted in what God is doing behind the scenes.

It’s gratitude for the preparation.

Gratitude for the growth.

Gratitude for the story still unfolding.

Gratitude for the God who writes with intention, in His timing.

And gratitude for the promise that every chapter, released and unreleased, holds meaning.

One day, the things you’re praying for will come to fruition. One day, you’ll look back and realize the waiting wasn’t empty; it was essential. One day, you’ll see why God held the page a little longer.

But today, even in the in-between, you can offer thanks.

Because this chapter?

This quiet, unreleased, unfinished chapter?

It is part of your miracle, too.