The Hearts Hello

It Was ALL a Setup

• Keona T. Ellerbe • Season 3 • Episode 13

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What if your “not yet” is actually a setup for everything you’ve prayed for? We take a hard, honest look at waiting, small beginnings, and those quiet stretches where it feels like no one is watching—and reveal how they’re strengthening your roots so your future fruit is safe to share. Instead of treating delays like denial, we unpack the deeper work of healing, identity, and discipline that turns gifting into sustainable impact.

Using a vivid apple tree metaphor, we trace how hidden growth protects you from pushing poisoned fruit into the world. We get practical about alignment: how it feels like peace in unfamiliar spaces, flow at a steady pace, and confidence when the crowd is silent. We also spotlight counterfeits that masquerade as opportunity—offers that demand you abandon yourself, relationships that drain your peace, and cycles that keep you performing instead of becoming. You’ll learn simple tests for discernment so you stop confusing distractions with destiny.

This conversation invites you to replace chasing with aligning. The hidden years weren’t wasted; they were your training ground. You were becoming the person who can hold what you’ve asked for without losing yourself in the process. As a new month begins, listen for where peace lives and follow it. You’re not behind—you’re being aligned. If this message resonates, share it with a friend who’s been second-guessing their path, and tap follow so you don’t miss what’s next. Your setup is already in motion—let’s walk it out together.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey friends, so we're gonna go ahead and jump into today's episode because I know that you have been wondering about the waiting that you've been in. Maybe it's rejection, delay, and maybe you're trying to figure out if the detours were even worth it. And I promise you that they are. See, I know that you have been showing up, that you've been doing the work, that you've been trying to stay consistent, consistent, and you're still asking God, when is it going to all make sense? So, what I came to tell you today is that it already does. See, you just haven't caught up to the purpose piece yet. But because everything that's happened in your life, every small start, every no, every not yet was never wasted. It was a setup and a setup for your alignment. See, I know that you can go through the Rolodex in your mind right now and think about situations that you have been in. And while you have been in them and have gone through them, you have come out on the other side and you're like, wow, I did not realize that when I went through that, it was preparing me for this. I did not realize that that detour wanted to take me around that, but now I dodged that. I did not have to go through that because I was being taken around what I thought was going to be perfect, perfect for my life. I thought that if I was connected with this relationship, that it was going to open doors and not realizing that maybe if you would have gotten connected with this business relationship, that this person may have been doing some things that you were not privy to. But in those moments, you question, well, was it me? Why didn't this happen? And then you begin to see why all of the things begin to unfold. I know even now when I look back at situations that I may have stayed in longer than I should have, when I have gone through seasons in my life, and I'm like, God, do you hear me? Do you see me? Do you see what I am going through? But I promise you that everything that I have gone through in my life has prepared me for this version of me that is here talking to you. That this version of me that is, even as I'm still evolving and growing, has prepared me and positioned me to be equipped enough to pour into you. See, everything that I have gone through has allowed me to, even when I do not feel like it, to brush my shoulders off and to be able to do what it is that is necessary for me to follow out my assignment. Because what I've realized is that even though you're on this journey called life, life be life, and life is hard, and every time that life shows up, you can't just sulk and sit on the couch until things get better. No, sometimes you have to work in the storm, sometimes you have to work when there is nothing but rain around you. You sometimes you have to work through the tears in your eyes, but I promise you that everything was a setup, and I'm here to encourage you to do not despise the setup season. See, we love to talk about blessings, but not about the build. We love to pray for purpose, but we don't always recognize the preparation. And I promise you, I get it. Small beginnings can feel discouraging. You start the business and nobody books you. You pour your heart into something and it feels like no one's watching. But what if the quiet season wasn't punishment that it was positioning? What if the reason God hasn't expanded your reach yet is because he's still strengthening your roots. See, you can't hold what you haven't been healed enough to handle. So he hides you, he refines you. And it feels like delay, but it's actually direction. So don't despise small beginnings because they're God's favorite classroom. I know last week, um, as we tied up and wrapped up the month that I did the mini-series Living Call, Passion to Purpose, and I had my cousin on. And so we kind of got into a little bit that, you know, me sharing with her about some of the things that she can do for her business and even some of the things that her daughter has been trying to, you know, push her to do. That was not her season. That was not the season for her to step out and do it. So she was taking small steps, even before uh, was it a few weeks ago, she decided to go all in. But it wasn't until she was healed enough where that the authentic version of her could show up and be purposeful in her purpose. See, sometimes we want to show up and do things out of our giftings and our callings, and yes, you can do it, but when authenticity shows up, that's on a different level. That allows people to see you for you. That allows people to see the light in you. And so when you are still healing and going through things and you don't even recognize the version of you that's standing in the mirror, it's hard for you to pour out and do purpose because purpose is going to pull on you, purpose is going to have you feeling a little heavy, purpose will have you waking up in the middle of the night trying to figure out what the next thing is going to be because purpose is not for you, purpose is for all of the individuals that you are supposed to impact, and I like to say it this way: purpose is the fruit. See, just like when you have an apple tree, you plant the seed, it grows. You don't get a chance to see the apples right away, but the more it begins to grow deep into the roots, the more the nourishment is sent to the actual tree. It begins to get watered, it begins to get the direct sunlight that it needs, and then you begin to see the actual apple. But before that, it just looks like a tree. It has branches, it has the leaves, it has a trunk, it has the roots, it has all of the things that a tree would have, and then it bears fruit, and so that's the purpose piece. The purpose is the apple, and so equates that to you. You have everything that you need, but the more you begin to grow, the more you begin to your roots get anchored, the more you begin to understand. Wait a minute, I'm an apple tree. Oh, free. Okay, now with all of the healing that I have done, with all of the mindset work that I have done, now I can produce fruit. Because ultimately, what happens with fruit? Someone comes and picks it and they consume it. And so if you are out here and you're trying to push the fruit before you have actually done the work, your fruit could be poisoned, and so here you are now trying to pour into people, and instead of pouring into them, you're actually bleeding on them. So the areas that you have not healed from, now that toxicity is flowing to the people that are pulling on the fruit. And so I need you to just think about that for a moment. What in you needs to be healed? So that when someone comes and consumes the fruit that you have, that it will be nourishment to their body, and not something that is going to poison them. Got it? That's how you need to think about you. That's how you need to think about a sturdy tree. See, a tree doesn't live inside the house. No, it weathers every season. But in order for a tree to sustain, it has to grow deep first. The roots have to grow deep first. So when the storm comes, it's not bothered, it's not going, it may bend, some of the branches may fall off, but that tree is anchored, that tree is rooted, and that's where your healing comes from. That's when your mindset works come from. That's when you are authentic and you show up as who you are. Because what if you go outside and you're supposed to be an apple tree and now you're producing oranges? Who are you? So every season that we go through is for a reason. So what it looks like, what does the season look like? What does it feel like? And something people don't really break down is how alignment actually looks and feels. So alignment isn't always easy or comfortable, sometimes it's conviction before it's clarity. And it's that gentle nudge in your spirit that says, This isn't it anymore. Or that deep peace that sits on you when you've been second guessing, but you finally choose to trust. See, alignment feels like peace even when it's unfamiliar. It feels like a flow even when it's not fast. It feels like confidence, even when the crowd is silent. See, you know you're aligned when peace becomes your proof, that you don't need outside validation, that your spirit just knows it's in rhythm with something bigger than me. And so, just like you can recognize when you're in alignment, you also need to recognize when it's a trap and it's outside of alignment. So you know what to do, how to feel. Now let's flip it. Because not everything that looks aligned is. Sometimes the enemy will send you a counterfeit before God actually releases the real thing. And if you're not rooted, remember we talked about that tree, you'll confuse alignment with a distraction. It may look good, feel good, feel familiar, sound spiritual, but it pulls your focus. It drains your peace, it keeps you stuck repeating old cycles. I like to always say that the tests that you do not pass, you will repeat again. Just like there were tests that you needed to pass in school in order to get to the next grade level, there are tests that you need to pass in life in order to get to the next level. So here's how you know if it's a trap and not alignment. If it requires you to abandon who you are to keep it, if it costs you your peace to maintain it, if it makes you question the progress that you've already made, my gosh, whoo! That's not alignment, y'all. That's interruption. And it may come across very subtle. We laughed last week when we were kind of talking about hairstyles, where people will make little slick comments that, you know, oh, well, why'd you do this? Or why'd you do that? Or in an argument, someone may say something. Do you realize that when someone says something in an argument, that's what they really wanted to say, but they tried to tie it in there? Have you ever dealt with people who are like that? That's how they really feel. The things that come up in an argument that someone says, it's what's really on their heart. And so you have to pay attention to the people that will say certain things and then say, Oh, I was just playing. No, you weren't. Those are the things that you pay attention to that are distractions that are outside of your alignment, that are trying to pull you from the very thing that you know that you are called to do, but that person may be familiar to you. And so you may take heed to what it is that they're saying. You may even believe their voice over the voice of God. And so we want to make sure that the alignment draws you closer to purpose, and a trap drags you back into performance. See, divine alignment is preparation, not punishment. So, what if you've been calling delay and God is saying, not yet, because I'm not done preparing you. See, those small seasons, the hidden years, the times where you may have had to start over, those were your training grounds. You weren't waiting, you were becoming. And so now in this season of alignment, God is saying, You're ready, ready to handle what you've prayed for, ready to steward the platform, ready to steward the partnership, the purpose without losing yourself in the progress. So stop resenting the setup and start recognizing it. See, that setup was a strategy, and the alignment is your reward. And so as we step into November, ask yourself, what if everything that I've been through was never meant to break me, only to build me for what's next? Because maybe, just maybe, your small start was your divine training. Maybe your pause was your protection, and maybe this month isn't about chasing, it's about aligning. See, anything you have to chase isn't worth having because you will always have to chase it. Just like God does not chase, He waits for you to come back. He always has his handout, he's never left you, you were the one that was running. So why? So this week, I want you to pay attention to where peace lives. See, that's your sign because peace is how God points you toward the next step. So you're not behind, you're being aligned. And friend, I promise you that it's all a setup. So if this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who's been questioning their journey. And remember, alignment doesn't always feel easy, but it always leads to purpose.