When God gives you a vision, it’s not just a promise—it’s an invitation to trust His timing. In this episode, Nina reflects on the story of Abraham and Sarai, exploring how impatience can distort what God intends for our good. Through raw honesty and Holy Spirit–led insight, she shares how to protect the promise God placed in your heart, even when others can’t see what He showed you.

🦋 Discover how to wait faithfully instead of striving anxiously.

🦋 Learn why discernment is essential when others doubt your calling.

🦋 Be reminded that what God reveals to you was meant for you—and no one else.

If you’ve ever felt weary in the waiting, this episode will strengthen your patience, renew your hope, and remind you that God’s promises are worth guarding.

If today’s message spoke to you, please share it with a friend and follow Born to be a Butterfly so you never miss an episode. 

📖 Ready to dive deeper into healing and transformation? Get my book, From Broken to Butterfly, on Amazon today! 

📩 If you have any questions or want to connect, send me a DM on Instagram at Born To Be A Butterfly or email me at ninapajonas@gmail.com. I love hearing from you! 

Remember, the Lord can turn your wounds into wings—you were Born to be a Butterfly! 🦋

Born to be a Butterfly © 2025 Nina Pajonas All rights reserved. The content of this podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. For the full disclaimer, visit ⁠ninapajonas.com.

Have you ever felt like God gave you a promise,

but the waiting made you question if you had heard him right?

In today's episode, we're going back to the story of Abraham and Sarah.

A story of faith,

patience, and divine timing.

Because what God promises,

he fulfills.

But. But it won't always come when or how we would expect.

Welcome to Born to be a Butterfly, where we embrace healing and growth in Christ so that we can experience true transformation.

My name is Nina Pajonis, and I pray that today's message ministers to you.

The other day I was on my morning walk and I was listening to the Bible app and I found myself reflecting on the story of Abraham,

the father of nations, and his wife Sarai.

There is so much in this story,

and it begins with a promise from God.

Genesis 15:1 4. NIV says,

after this, the word of the Lord came to Abram and a vision do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,

your very great reward.

But Abram said,

sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?

Then the word of the Lord came to him.

This man will not be your heir,

but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.

The Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, telling him that he would have a son, because Abram was worried that all of his possessions,

all of his blessings would go to his servant because he had no child.

But God promised him an heir of his own flesh and blood.

Here's the thing.

The promise didn't come right away.

It wouldn't be fulfilled until Abram was very old.

And he was already old when God told him this.

It's not faith if you're not patient.

If your faith only lasts for a moment,

if God has to provide instant gratification for what you want,

for who you want to be,

or for what he spoke over your life,

then that's not faith.

Faith is believing in things unseen.

Faith is what carries us until we see what God has promised.

It's not enough to say,

I believe you, God. I received the vision, I receive the Word,

and then two days later say,

why hasn't it happened yet?

We can't be petulant children sitting in the back of a car saying to God, are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

You know what I mean.

Don't get me wrong.

I've done it too.

I have wondered,

did I hear you right, God?

Did you say that?

Or did you say this?

Because this looks a lot better,

I think.

And this looks like it's going to happen sooner.

It's not that I didn't hear him.

It's that I didn't want to wait.

We have all done this.

And that's exactly where Sarai comes in.

Because waiting on God is one thing,

but when you have to wait on God with someone else for your promise can be even harder.

Sometimes you'll start blaming that other person for the promise not being fulfilled.

Sometimes you'll start looking at them like the delay is their fault instead of realizing that the delay is divine.

And we see Sarai's frustration in her response to the waiting. In Genesis 16:1 2, Niv Nasserai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children.

She had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

So she said to Abram,

the Lord has kept me from having children.

Go sleep with my slave.

Perhaps I can build a family through her. And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

Now, I want to take a look at this, because the first thing that we see here is that Sarai has grown bitter.

She said,

the Lord has kept me from having children.

That word kept is so significant,

it is strong.

That is a woman who says,

the Lord is keeping this thing from me.

He's keeping joy from me. He's keeping children from me. He has no right to keep it from me.

That's what she's saying.

And now she wants to take matters into. Into her own hands.

She's not waiting on the Lord.

She's not willing to wait on the Lord. And to make matters worse, Abram agrees to what Sarai said.

So now he is willingly walking away from the Lord's will for his life.

But here's what we cannot miss in all of this.

It was a vision.

I believe they used this word purposefully. And I'm no theologian.

I'll never pretend to be.

I'm not a biblical scholar. But what I can tell you is this.

When I was on the walk and I was listening to this story,

the Holy Spirit showed me the word vision. In my mind's eye,

like in big, bold letters,

I saw the word vision.

And I believe that he wanted to bring it to my attention,

that it was the vision that the Lord gave Abram.

And so Abram was in charge of protecting that vision.

Abram was not in charge of fulfilling it. God will fulfill it. God will bring it to fruition.

But it was Abram's job to hold fast to to the truth of what the Lord had told him and to guard that vision with everything in his power.

Nothing and no one should have been able to sway Abram from what God told him.

And that's the truth now. We're not perfect. None of us are.

And we will do this. We'll falter sometimes because we've put our faith in the wrong things.

We've had more faith in people than we have in our Heavenly Father.

We should never trust anyone more than we trust our Lord and Savior. We should never give anybody's opinion, more credence than that of the Holy Spirit.

When we receive a word from God, when we receive a promise from the Lord,

we are to hold fast to it.

God didn't give Sarai the vision. He gave it to Abram.

He entrusted that vision to Abram because he knew that he was going to make Abram the Father of Nations.

He knew exactly what he wanted his lineage to be.

He knew.

It's not for us to know.

We're not supposed to know all the steps on the journey or exactly how the vision is going to be realized, or even the entirety of the vision. That's not faith.

If we know everything,

what do we need the Lord for?

If we knew all the steps,

we would forget to take them with our Savior.

And that's the truth.

It's sad, but that's the truth.

We must realize that other people aren't going to understand what God told us.

When we receive a message from the Lord in the secret place,

there's a reason he told us in the secret place.

I've learned this the hard way.

Believe me when I tell you,

keep it secret as long as you can.

You'd think you could trust people with your vision or God's promises. But I'll tell you right now,

you'd think they would be happy for you.

And you might find one or two who genuinely are.

But a lot of people,

and it hurts my heart to say this,

but a lot of people will wonder why the Lord didn't say it to them.

You cannot listen to people who haven't heard what you have heard from the Lord.

They might love you.

They might want the best for you.

But if they did not receive the promise,

they cannot validate the process.

Sometimes we share the vision because we want encouragement.

Sometimes we share it because we want someone to say,

wow,

that's exciting.

But deep down,

we're craving validation.

The promise God made you is for you.

Your purpose was designed specifically for your life,

for your heart,

your obedience,

and your relationship with the Lord.

It is not meant to fit someone else's faith.

So don't be surprised when other people don't believe what God told you.

Or think that your waiting is foolish.

Or think that your journey is too long.

Your Lord and Savior didn't speak to them.

He spoke to you.

You can pray for them, for their walk,

for their intimacy with Christ,

and for the clarity of their calling,

but you must not let them change your obedience.

Your obedience is the bridge between the promise and the fulfillment.

Do not let someone convince you to birth anything other than the Isaac that God promised you.

Because hear me when I say this, sister.

That is exactly how the enemy sneaks in.

God will always guide his children.

The Lord will lead us with love,

but the enemy is the one who wants us to rush in.

If we rush, we let our guard down because we aren't thinking logically.

And that means we definitely cannot see clearly.

And speaking of vision, there is another story that ties beautifully into this lesson, and it is the story of Lot.

Let's jump over to Genesis 13,

verses 1, 3, 6, and 8. 18.

NIV.

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.

The land could not support them while they stayed together,

for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.

So Abram said to Lot,

let's not have any quarreling between you and me.

If you go to the left, I'll go to the right.

If you go to the right,

I'll go to the left.

Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered,

like the garden of the Lord.

So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.

Lot looked with human eyes.

He saw what appeared to be fruitful and full of promise.

But it was a mirage.

That land looked like paradise,

but it was polluted.

It looked like purpose,

but it was poison.

And he pitched his tents near Sodom and. And Gomorrah.

And they were both full of wickedness.

And this is another lesson that I want you to learn today.

The devil will always send an imitation to distract you from your divine destination.

You'll notice that Lot never prayed about his decision.

He chose by sight instead of by spirit.

He didn't consult the Lord.

He went with what looked right instead of what was right.

Abram, on the other hand, listened to God. And because of his obedience, the Lord said, look around from where you are.

All the land that that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.

Lot trusted his eyes instead of the voice of God.

And that brings us to the heart of this message.

We must stop chasing what we See and start trusting what God says.

I cannot stress this enough.

Sister,

please hear me.

If you keep choosing with human eyes,

you may miss what heaven has for you.

You may miss it.

Please don't miss it.

Both stories teach us that obedience protects destiny,

that vision must be guarded, and that faith requires patience.

Do not let anyone pull you away from what God told you.

Listen to the Lord,

trust in his timing and protect the promise.

The waiting doesn't mean that it's over.

It means that God is still working on you so that you'll be ready for what he has in store for you.

And now I'd like to ask you a couple of questions.

Number one,

what promises for from God are you still waiting to see fulfilled?

And how can you practice patience in the waiting?

Number two,

have you ever shared a vision too soon and felt discouraged when others didn't understand it?

What might God be teaching you through that?

Heavenly Father,

thank you for reminding us that your timing is perfect even when we can't see the outcome.

Teach us to wait with faith to protect the promises you've spoken over our lives and to trust that what you've begun,

you will finish.

Help us guard your vision,

walk in obedience and stay patient as you prepare the blessing ahead.

In the mighty and magnificent name of Jesus,

Amen.

If today's message blessed you, please share it with a friend and follow Born to be a Butterfly so you never miss an episode.

If you're ready to dive deeper into my story of healing and transformation,

you can get my book From Broken to Butterfly on Amazon.

If you have any questions or would like to connect,

send me a DM on Instagram Born to be a Butterfly or you can find my page Born to be a Butterfly on Facebook.

Until next time,

remember,

the Lord can turn your wounds into wings.

You were born to be a butterfly.