2026 is not about IF God will move

There's something powerful about the phrase "when the Lord" that changes everything. Not "if the Lord" but "when the Lord." This distinction isn't merely semantic—it's the difference between uncertainty and confident expectation, between wavering hope and unshakeable faith.

Psalm 126 opens with these remarkable words: "When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dreamed." This ancient psalm celebrates the end of Israel's 70-year Babylonian captivity, a period prophesied by Jeremiah with both a beginning and an end date. God didn't just speak judgment; He promised restoration. The captivity wouldn't define them forever—only season them temporarily.

The Purpose Behind Captivity

Captivity in biblical terms wasn't random. It served a spiritual purpose, driving people who had forgotten their God back to Him. Sometimes trouble is permitted to restore our faith, to reset our priorities, to remind us who truly holds our lives in His hands.

Here's a sobering truth: captivity doesn't always come because you did something wrong. Job never sinned, yet he suffered. Jesus was blameless, yet He carried a cross. Sometimes the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. You can find yourself drafted into difficult seasons not because of personal failure, but because you're living in a time when collective consequences affect everyone.

But even in captivity, God ensures His people survive. When Jeremiah prophesied the captivity, he also prophesied an end date. That meant captivity would not define their entire existence. Your current struggle will not be your permanent identity. You will be defined not by the captivity itself, but by the manner in which God brought you out of it.

The Persistence of God

One of the most comforting truths about walking through difficult seasons is this: God is persistent. Even when progress seems slow, even when things don't unfold according to our plans, even through our doubts and instability, God remains persistent.

The apostle Paul captured this beautifully: "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). God's persistence transforms what should be an "if" into a "when."

Think about the difference. "If" implies uncertainty about whether something will happen. It places conditions on outcomes. "When," however, indicates certainty—the only question is timing, not likelihood. With God, it's never a matter of if He will fulfill His promises; it's always a matter of when.

When timing doesn't align with our desires, the enemy tries to shift our focus from "when" to "if." He wants us to question the likelihood of God's faithfulness. But God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. What He has spoken, He will do. What He has promised, He will perform.

Trusting God's Timing

Here's where faith gets tested: when dealing with God's "when," we don't have control over it. Absolute trust means believing that God's timing is always better than our timing, even when we desperately need Him to move right now.

It's easy to say "I trust God" when you're on the mountaintop, when your health is good, when your finances are secure. But can you trust Him when you don't know when help is coming? Can you believe His "when" is better even when you need Him to act immediately?

Perhaps previous seasons have been about resetting our trust in God. We've become accustomed to miracles, to doors opening, to ways being made. But God wants to bring us back to depending on His Word itself—not the miracle, but the Word that produces the miracle.

The root of God's victory is always His Word. Therefore, the root of our trust must be in God's Word. "I will send my word and heal them" (Psalm 107:20). The Word sanctifies, delivers, and transforms. When we set our focus back on the Word of God, we position ourselves for the turn we've been waiting for.

When the Lord Stirs

In Ezra chapter one, we read that "in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus." God moved on the heart of the very king who held His people captive, initiating what the prophet had declared.

This is the power of divine stirring. God is stirring right now to initiate what He has declared over your life. Whatever prophetic word you've received, whatever promise has been spoken, God is in the process of fulfilling it. He's stirring hearts, opening doors, and moving obstacles.

When God stirred Cyrus, the Israelites were shocked. They had settled into captivity. They'd established jobs, achieved some level of contentment, and developed coping mechanisms. They weren't expecting deliverance anymore. Then suddenly, "when the Lord" stepped in, everything changed.

The Sovereignty That Changes Everything

The psalmist didn't say "my Lord" but "THE Lord"—Lord over all things, all people, all circumstances. He's Lord over your house, your city, your nation. He's Lord over the very forces that seem to hold you captive.

This is why your testimony in 2026 can simply be two words: "The Lord." How did you come through? The Lord. How did you get that breakthrough? The Lord. How did you survive? The Lord. He's sovereign over every source of captivity in your life.

From Overwhelmed to Overjoyed

The text says when the Lord turned their captivity, they "were like them that dreamed." It felt too good to be true. The joy was overwhelming. This is God's promise: you're about to go from being overwhelmed by trouble to being overwhelmed with joy. From overwhelmed by lack to overwhelmed with plenty.

When God turns it, He really turns it. When God blesses, He really blesses. When God saves, He really saves. The victory isn't just about surviving—it's about thriving in the goodness of God's faithfulness.

Your captivity will not define your life. Your deliverance will. It's not a matter of if—it's a matter of when the Lord turns it. And when He does, you'll know without question: it was the Lord, the Lord who did it.

Hold on to His unchanging hand. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Your "when" is coming.