#357 | Sleep, Creep, Leap

Hey, hey, hey, friends. Welcome to the Hannah Keeley Show. I'm Hannah Keeley, and today we are going to talk about the three inevitable phases you have to go through when you're making something happen. If you have a vision that you want to see happen in your life, if you have a manifestation you want to walk into, if you have a goal you want to achieve. And let's face it, if you're watching this or listening to this podcast, you're that kind of person, probably you're that kind of person who dreams big. You. You set goals, you're going after. You have something you want to achieve in your life, right? And when you're in that process, I'm telling you 100 of the time, you are always in one of three phases in that process. You're either sleeping or creeping or leaping, and I'm going to show you the difference and what to avoid in that process. Today. It's going to be so powerful. I want you to lean in. I want you to get rid of all the distractions. Unless they're your kids, you know, two, tune them in. You gotta kind of deal with them right now, but we're gonna talk about that. And I think this is going to be really effective for a lot of people who find themselves in one of those three phases. I remember one time I went to go visit my parents. So this is right after. This is years and years ago, right after they had done some landscaping. And I remember pulling up to the. In the driveway, and, y', all, it looks so pathetic. It looks so bad. Because they had planned planted ivy as a ground cover. And there are these tiny little sprigs of ivy sticking out of the ground like, every four or five feet, right? All over their massive front yard. And I remember talking about it. I'm like, so you guys did a lot of work out here. What's going on with this? And my dad said, oh, we planted ivy, and it's going to, like, cover the front yard. I was like, awesome. Sounds good. Came back about six weeks later. It looked the same. And I remember talking with him at dinner that night. I said, so when is that ivy supposed to grow? Because I was here a while ago and I thought it would look a little different, and it doesn't. It still looks like there's tiny little sprigs and your front yard looks pathetic. And I remember my dad said something to me. He said, you know, when it comes to ivy, the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, and the third year it leaps and sure enough, if you would go visit that house with me today, you would see a front yard covered with very dense ivy. Nothing happened the first year, second year, little bit of growth, but y' all, after that second year it just like, you can hardly tame the stuff it took over their front yard. And I'm telling you, these are the three phases. I've seen it happen in my life, I've seen it happen in my clients lives, my students lives. It's these three phases. You find yourself in one of these three phases. When God gives you a dream and you go after it, you will inevitably have to go through these three phases. I'm going to show you what they look like and the toxic poison to avoid. Because here's the deal. I could like, I could go to my parents house today and if I could spray like round up all over that stuff and kill it like that, right? No matter what phase you are in, there is a poison that you have to avoid. And I've seen people slip into this and kill the dream. But I don't want that happen to you. And that's probably why you're watching or listening today, because God doesn't want that to happen to your dream either. So let's talk about this first phase of sleeping. This is right after you like get this belief for the dream. This is right after you get that vision. This is right after you, you know, you know when your heart skips a beat and you're like, I think I want to do this, I want to launch this ministry, I want to start this business. I want to, I want to go into this marriage, I want to, I want to build a family. I want to start my, I want to start my health journey right. There's always that starting right. And it's so exciting to start things, not as exciting to finish them. That's why you have so many beginners as so few finishers. Because the starting is always the excited part. But what we don't understand is there is a time allotment after you like start after you hear that gun go off and you start the journey right, you start the race. There is a phase and, and it's the sleeping phase. It's when you don't see anything happen. It's when you're running, you're working, you're trying, you're struggling, you're doing everything you know to do and you see nothing. See, this is when that, that ivy in the, in the sleep phase, we only see what's above the ground. Like when I went to Go see my parents. I could only see what was above the ground, like those little sprigs of ivy. What I could not see, what was happening underground is the roots are forming, and they are forming deep roots, and they are forming wide roots. But the root system has to become established before the harvest. Now, the sleeping phase is when those roots are being established to support the fruit. Now, you. You have a dream, you have a goal, you have a desire. But because you want to see fruit developed in your life, it might be the health journey. You want to see weight loss. You want to see a. A stronger, healthier, more flexible body. It may. It may be, you know, that business that you launch, and you want to see the eight figures and nine figures, seven figures in your account, right? You want to see people using your products. It might be the ministry. You want to see people coming to Jesus and changing their lives. That's the fruit. The fruit is dependent upon the roots, so the roots have to grow first. So in that sleeping phase is when all the activity is happening in the unseen realm, and that unseen realm is under the radar. It's not where you can see it. It's. It's in that privacy of what God is doing, where no one, especially not you, can see it. And it's got to happen there first. Okay? God will never promote in public what he is not primed in private. I'm going to say that again. God will never promote in public what he has not primed in private. Now, when you're on this journey, this manifestation journey, and you're in that first part of the sleeping phase, that is when he is priming everything in the private realm. That's when. That's what no one sees. No one sees you getting up at five in the morning to spend time in the word of God. No one sees you being so exhausted at 7pm at night. But you still go and do the work. You still write the chapter of the book, you still prepare the talk notes, you still record the podcast, even though no one's listening and no one's watching and no one's responding is when you're doing that work. You got to show up in private before God reveals you in public. I want to share this with you. This is Psalm 91, verses 1 and 2. It says, he who dwells in the secret place. Someone needs to, like, give me a shout out and just say, hannah, I'm in the secret place. If that's you today, like, if you're watching this video, leave it as a comment. If you're Listening to this just like. Like leave a comment or DM me or something to say. Hannah, I'm in the secret place. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty, whose power no foe can withstand. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God. On Him I lean and rely, and in Him I confidently trust. This is what is so important in this phase is that we have to be grounded and rooted in God. We have to know. Even if I don't see it happening, it's not going to move me from that place where I know God started something. I remember I was talking to a friend of mine and sharing my dream to reach the nation of moms with my university and that God had given that to me. He said, ask me for the nation's hand. I said, give me the nation of moms, God. And my friend said, write it down. Write down the date. So that when the enemy comes along and says, did you even hear God? Did you even like, was that just, like, wishful thinking? Or did you imagine it? Or maybe it wasn't even God. You can go back to that and say, no, no, as it is written, here it is, I received that vision and it was for me. You have to have some evidence when you're going through this period because you have all this ambiguity where you wonder, like, what is going on? Is this ever going to start getting any traction? What is happening here? So we have got to stay grounded and rooted in that secret place where God is doing the secret work. We have to stay grounded and rooted in him and know he called me to this and I don't have to see it to believe it. How much more blessed are we? Right? We don't have to see it. It can happen underground. It can happen in the unseen. It can happen in private. I don't have to see the numbers yet. I don't have to see the evidence yet. I don't have to see the fruit yet. Because I know that God can't fail me. I know that he began it and he'll finish it. I know I can trust Him. So I'm just going to be grounded and rooted in him. He started this. Now I get to continue this. Now here's the poison. Every single phase has a poison. If you're taking notes, write this down. The poison in the sleeping phase is being motivated by feelings. That's the poison. Because the excitement is going to stop. That's why I believe Mary when she had the. When the angel came and said, hey, you're going to bear a son. You're going to call him Jesus. Holy Spirit will. Will come over you and you, and you. A virgin will get pregnant with the Son of God and he will take away the sins of the. Of the world. Like, all this, like, huge, right, huge vision, huge goal, huge, like, task that was placed on her. An amazing platform right there planted on her. And she didn't go blabbing about it. She didn't go shouting from the rooftops, and she didn't go post about it, and she didn't go make a. She didn't go on social media. Well, okay, there wasn't social media, but let's say there was. She didn't, like, go, like, publicizing it. It said she pondered it in her heart. And I believe this is that phase where you have. You don't have to have everyone's accolades. You don't have to have people applauding you. You don't have to have people saying, come on, you go get them, go get them, go get them. You don't need that because you've got heavenly armies backing you up. You've got a great cloud of witnesses believing in you. You've got the word of God who started this thing. So that's where. If we're motivated by feelings, then guess what? Feelings have to keep us on the journey the whole way. So this is why we have to decide early on, I'm not going to be motivated or led by feelings. Because then if you feel good, you'll continue the journey. If you feel bad, you'll give it up. Remember, they're your feelings. You take authority over them, you own them. And that way you master your feelings. They can't master you. You have got to make this decision early on that it's when the excitement stops that the endeavor really starts. That's how it was with Mary. When the excitement stops with that initial, like, whoa, wait a minute, I'm going to carry the savior of the world. Wow, Amazing beginning, right? But she didn't camp out there. That's when you have to go through nine months of pregnancy, ten months of pregnancy. Actually, that's when you have to go through that. And you don't always have people cheering you on. Sometimes it feels like, in Mary's case, pretty humiliating, right? How many people believe that she was a virgin? Probably not too many. So you have to deal with a lot of things that you never asked for. You could have never predicted it. You would have no concept of how frustrated and hard and exhausting this journey could be, because if you did, you probably wouldn't have started in the first place. So we have to decide. I'm not going to be motivated by feelings because feelings are what gets you started. But feelings. Feelings cannot get you going. I'm going to say that again. Feelings are what gets you started, but feelings cannot keep you going. What keeps you going is your decision to. To stay on track. I'm not going to be moved. I'm not going to be emotionally led and pulled away. I'm going to stay here because I made a decision to stay here and my feelings can do whatever they want to do. I'm not moved by them because they're going to be good days and bad days. But I've made a decision and I'm sticking to this path that's so important. We have to remember that. Hebrews 12:2 tells us this. Looking away from all that will distract to Jesus, who is the leader and the source of our faith, giving the first incentive for our belief, and is also his finisher, bringing it to maturity and perfection. Maturity and perfection. He, for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. So here's the deal. Jesus was was able to stay on task. No matter if he's preaching to 15,000 people or if he's being nailed to the cross. Whatever the day looked like and whatever the task before him, he stayed on track. Why? Because he did not get distracted and look away from the purpose that God had poured in him. Here's the deal, friend. You know your purpose. You know what you're here for. You know that dream that God put in your heart. And it was not just an idle wish. It was real. Recognize it. Honor that. And now it's time to get on track. It could be a sleeping phase, but that's okay. You have to get through that before you can start seeing the results. No one is exempt from these three phases. No one. You've got to get through the sleeping phase because anyone can start. But what do you do on mile 10? What do you do on mile 25? What do you do on mile 200 when you're like, oh my gosh, is this ever going to happen? You keep going. Matthew 4:4 says, man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. What that is saying is, do not be sustained by Your circumstances be led by the spirit. That means even when your circumstances don't look like it's going to supply for you, even when, even when your surroundings, what's in your account, what's in your home, what you're looking at, your platform, your, like, whatever, the fruit doesn't look like it's there. That doesn't matter. You are not led by the fruit. You are now focused on the roots. So don't look at. Like when you're looking at the tree that you're building and you're looking for the fruit, it's okay that you don't see it yet because you know things are happening underground. That's why we're not sustained by bread. We're sustained by the bread of life. And that is the word of God. That is going back to that initial purpose that God designed for us in the first place. Now that's the sleeping phase. Don't be motivated by your feelings. Keep going. Because after the sleeping phase is the creeping phase. And this, when is. You guessed it, you're just creeping along. It's that, oh, my gosh, why hasn't it happened by now? It's like the results are, like, starting to show up. The fruit is starting to show up. But it's like, like you expected these big, huge, like golden crisp apples, and you're getting these little bitter berries and you're like, that's it. Like, come on, I've been at this. I've. Haven't I paid my dues yet? It's not about paying your dues. It's about every day staying on course. There's no, like, okay, you paid enough dues, now you can have fruit. It's like, are you staying on course whether you see the fruit or not? That's what we have to get really clear with. So this is that phase when. When you're seeing results. But it just doesn't seem to be measuring up to the vision that God has put on you. I remember watching this documentary about Stan Lee, you know, the Marvel guy, and he was being interviewed and the. And this is when, like, Marvel really took off and exploded. And they were interviewing him and they said, what do you think about this overnight success you've had? And I'll never forget the response that Stanley gave them. And he said, well, if that was an overnight success, that was the longest night of my life. And it's true, because everyone's going to see the fruit one day. But what they're not going to see is the little bitter berries. They're not going to see you showing up and still doing it, even when everyone around you is like, are you still at this thing? Oh, my gosh, you're still, man, you're still trying to get that, sell that book. You're. You're still, you're still trying to do that talking circuit that speaking. So you're still, you're still building that, that ministry. Wow. You're still working on that business. Oh, you're still in that marriage. Wow. You're still home with the kids. Everyone's gonna wonder, like, why haven't you given up on this yet? Are you, Are you not? Like, is there not enough evidence that it's not working out? No. Because you know what? For people like me and you, the bitter berries are evidence that, yes, it will produce fruit, even if it's little. Even though I can't eat it yet, even though it doesn't look like what I thought it would look, I have cracked the code. And at least there's a harvest. At least something's working. I want to read this to you. This is First Corinthians 3. I'm starting in verse 11. And it says, no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed One. But if anyone builds upon the foundation, whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, the work of each one will become plainly, openly known and shown for what it is for the day of Christ. We will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire. And the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the. Of the work each person has done. If the work which any person has built on this foundation, any product of his efforts, whatever, survives this test, someone needs to comment this test, because the creeping phase is a test. If anything survives this test, he will get his reward. But if any person's work is burned up under the test, he'll suffer the loss of it all, losing his reward, though he himself will be saved, but only as one who has passed through fire. So understand this phase, this creeping phase, is in intentional, is by God's design. Because whatever you are bringing to pass in your life, through your life has to stand the test of fire. Will this hold up under pressure? That's what God needs to know. Like, if you are. If you have a big dream, and I believe if you're here right now, and I don't really attract some small dreamers, I attract big dreamers because I'm a big dreamer, right? Like attracts like so if you're a big dreamer, then you have to understand this phase where it's just creeping along is actually God allowing me to be refined and built and strengthened so that when I do hit that mountain, I'll be able to support the enormity and the weight of the blessing that awaits me. You cannot just be thrust into the harvest because guess what, the harvest is the busiest season and that blessing will crush you if you are not fitted for it. I can't go into a gym and bench press £300. I'm not there yet. Like, I remember when I first got started working out at the gym, I could barely bench press the bar. And then, okay, let's put some 10 pound weights, okay? Now let's put some 40 pound weights. Now let's put some 50 pound weights, right? And so that's what we have to understand is we have, this is the building season. The creeping is when you're doing the work inside. Like, okay, I'm not led by emotions anymore. I went through that phase. Now it's that place where it's like I, I, the results are not sustaining me. And I am being sustained by nothing except God. He is my source. Like so many times, we're building a dream and building a vision because we want that as a resource to sustain us. We want to make money, we want to have all the good feelings. We want to, like, we're building something that will bless us. But what God is saying is like, does this have to bless you or can you still be blessed just by, just by intimacy with me? That's what we're after. This is a phase where we lean in and say, God, even though, like the harvest that I'm building right now is not enough to sustain me, God, I know you are because you've never stopped being my source. You've never stopped being my all sufficient one. You've never stopped being my El Shaddai God. Even though what I am building I can't stand on yet, God, I know I can still stand on your word. Your word will not forsake me. Your word will support me. Even in this phase where nothing else can, I know you can. And that's what I'm leaning on right now. In Psalm 23:4, it says, yes, though I walk through the deep sunless valley of the shadow of death, I will fear, dread no evil for your with me your rod to protect and your staff to guide, they comfort me. Here's the deal, friend. In this creeping phase, this is when you're walking through the valley. And it's that valley of the shadow of death. It's not the valley of death. It's the valley of the shadow of death. Because everywhere you look, you see dark. You see that this isn't working. It's not enough. Of course it's not enough. Because God is your source. What you are building is not your source. God is your source. So when you're walking through that valley, what do you do? You just keep walking. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other and watch God come through. In the darkest parts of that valley. Watch God come through. Because the size of the mountain will always be revealed in the expanse of the valley that leads up to it. If you can't walk through that valley, friend, you. You can't stand on that mountain. So in this valley, you've got to be willing to keep going. Now, here's the poison. You ready for the poison? In the sleeping season. Here's the poison. Did I get it wrong? Did I hear God wrong? Did I make a mistake? I gotta figure this out. Friend, you didn't get God wrong. He's so kind and loving and merciful that even if you did get it wrong, he would make it clear to you because he doesn't want you to suffer. He would make it clear. Remember, you know the voice of your good shepherd. A stranger, you're not even going to hear that you know his voice. And even if you mishear or you misinterpret or you make a wrong turn, he's so loving, he'll just bring you right back. It's okay. Don't camp out in that place where you're thinking I got it wrong. Because then you're going to get into the works of the flesh instead of the fruit of the spirit. And now you quit growing harvest, you started hustling and grinding. And that is not the recipe for faith based success. That is not a functional recipe for you, my friend. That will lead to overwhelm, stress, anxiety, depression, all the things you, you do not want in your life. It's so tempting in this phase to think I got to figure it out. I've got to get it right. Time's running out, money's running out. Nothing's running out, friend, because you are plugged in and grafted into an everlasting, all sufficient, extravagant, abundant source. Nothing's running out. It's part of the process. Romans 8:28. We are assured and know that God, being a partner in their labor, all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good, to and for those who love God and are called according to his design and his purpose. I'm telling you guys, I'm telling you, friend, sweetheart, all things work together. And here's the deal. We want all things, but we don't have to. We don't want to go through all things. But if you're going to have all things, you have to experience all things. And that means you have to experience the sunshine days and the dark nights. You have to have all of the things in a recipe for success. No one is exempt from this. This is part of the process. This sleeping phase. I'm sorry, this creeping phase is meant to build your character to such a place that you are stable, rested and rooted, knowing God's my source and he is good. And you stay in that place and you get. And you let him. You let God and the process burn off all the things that aren't supposed to make the journey anyway. And you come out the other side, refined, fitted for the blessing. You come out stronger, you come out wiser, you come out more able, you come out more confident. You come out more assured of what God is doing in your life. And then, friend, then you walk into the leaping phase. The leaping. You had the sleeping phase. I didn't see anything, but I didn't give into my feelings. You went through the creeping phase. It's just not happening as much as I thought it would happen. But you know what? I'm not going to try to figure this out. I'm just going to rest in God. And then you walk in to the leaping phase. The suddenlies one thing quickly upon the heels of another. You walk into the harvest. And friend, the harvest is the most abundant but the busiest season. And if you hadn't made it through the sleeping and the creeping, you would not be able to to manage the leaping, because the leaping will test you in a way you've never anticipated because of the enormity of the blessing of God. Check this out. In Amos 9, 13, 15, I'm going to read this to you in the message version. It says, yes, indeed, it won't be long now. God's decree. Somebody said, right, right now, it won't be long now. Write in the comments down. DM me say, Hannah, it won't be long now. Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won't be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once. And everywhere you look, blessings, blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills I'll make everything right again for my people, Israel, y' all quickly upon the heels of the other. That is what happens in the leaping phase. It is when the blessing is pouring in. And sometimes that is the busiest season. Because you've got to keep up at the speed of God. And the speed of God is a lot faster than the speed of light. The speed of God is supernatural. And you've got to be fitted to keep up with this process. You've got to have everything running so we can hold on to the blessing and distribute the blessing and you can expand the kingdom of God. Now, it seems, like so good and so awesome. And that's what I want, Hannah. That's what I want. I want the suddenly. I want the now. I want the manifestation, the explosion of God's goodness. I want it now. But here's the deal, friend. There is a poison here, too, that if you're not careful, this season can take you out as well. What is the poison? The poison is forgetting your God. All of a sudden we think, look at what I did. Look at what I accomplished. No, you stayed in the process. But it was God's power at work in you and through you that brought this blessing. Check this out in Deuteronomy 8. This is a lot, but I want you to really lean in and listen to this. It's going to bless you today. It says, for the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. A land of brooks, of water fountains and springs flowing forth in valleys and hills. A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates. A land of olive trees and honey. Tell you that. Promised land. Everyone wants a promised land, but no one wants to go through the wilderness. I think you need both. Verse 9 says, A land in which you shall eat food without shortage and lack nothing in it. A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which he has given you. Beware. Here's the poison, friend. Here's the poison. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments his precepts and his statutes, which I command you today. Lest when you've eaten and you're full, and you have built goodly houses and live in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your minds and hearts be lifted up and you Forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness. That's that creeping season, friend, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water. But who brought you forth water out of a flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers didn't know, that he might humble you and test you and do you good in the end. And beware, lest you say in your mind and heart, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. But you shall earnestly remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth that he may establish his covenant, which he swore to your fathers as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day. You. You will surely perish. Friend. I don't want you to go through that sleeping phase and then go through that creeping phase and then step into the leaping and then everything crashes to the ground. Don't forget that season of the suddenly of the blessing. We all want it, but that's when our character truly shines out, when you can let ego go and you can know it is only God who could do this in me and could do this through me. I am just a conduit of the almighty power that wants to be manifest in this earthly realm. I'm just the pipeline. It's his glory. He calls us to expand his kingdom. He said, go, be fruitful, multiply, expand, subdue, go, take over. But remember, it is his blessing at work in you, coming through you that is changing everything around you. No one is exempt from this, and everyone will be tested in this. And there is always a poison waiting right there for you to indulge in, friend. We're going to link arms. We are partnered together in this. We're going to reach our dreams together. And guess what? We're going to get through the sleeping phase because we're not going to be led by our feelings. And we're going to get through the creeping phase together. Because you know what? We're not going to go hustle and grind and try to figure out what to do. We're just going to rest and trust in God. And guess what? Me and you, we are going to celebrate in the leaping phase because that is when God's glory is revealed. Praise God. I am with you, my friend. Reach out to me on Instagram. Hannah Keeley. Send me a comment. Check out our Mommy Makeover class. It's a free class. If you're a mom and you're just ready for a makeover, go to mommymakeoverclass.com but get that transformation today. No matter where you are in the journey, I want to partner with you. So let me know where you are and we're going to stand together. I love you, my friend. Be blessed like crazy.