Faith in the Fire: What God Taught Me in the Messy Middle

No one talks enough about the messy middle—that space between the dream God gave you and the moment it finally comes to life.

It’s the season where you’re doing everything right, yet everything feels hard. Where unexpected setbacks hit and opportunities come with challenges that test your patience, your faith, and sometimes even your identity as a leader.

This year has been exactly that for us. We’ve faced business scams, wrestled with raising capital, and navigated through the highs and lows that come with building something from the ground up. But through it all, one truth has anchored me: success doesn’t belong to those who have it all figured out. It belongs to those who refuse to give up.

Faith in the fire means believing even when it burns. It’s holding on when everything in you wants to let go. It’s choosing to trust that God’s hand is still on you especially when the process doesn’t look like the promise.

Sometimes God places us in the oven, and it feels like the heat will consume us. But what if He’s not burning us… He’s baking us? What if every trial, delay, and detour is actually preparation for the next level of blessing?

This season has taught me that evolution requires breaking. Growth requires surrender. And purpose often reveals itself in pieces before it becomes whole.

So if you’re walking through your own messy middle right now, this is your sign that You’re not being punished you’re being prepared. 

Keep showing up. Keep believing. Keep becoming. Because God’s not done yet!

Love Always,

Dr. Nicole Gentry