Facing the Future with Faith: Kristin Kurtz on Wait Training in the Wilderness

In this vulnerable solo episode of Hope Unlocked, Kristin Kurtz invites you into the messy middle of her faith journey—between Egypt and the Promised Land. After launching New Wings Coaching in 2017 and leaving her corporate job in 2021, she’s learned what it means to trust God without a map. If you’re navigating a wilderness season, craving clarity, or tempted to turn back to comfort—this is your reminder: don’t stop now. Discover how to worship while you wait, walk by faith, and boldly face the future. The milk and honey are coming. Keep going.

Chapters

• 0:16 Welcome to Hope Unlocked
• 0:49 Sharing from the Middle
• 1:40 WAIT Training: More Than Waiting
• 3:17 Celebration as a Weapon
• 5:27 Declarations of Faith
• 6:30 Encouragement for Your Journey

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:16

Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm your host, kristen Kurtz, and I'm also the founder of New Wings Coaching. I help and empower wildhearted and adventurous women of faith feeling caged and stuck, unlock their true purpose and potential, break free from limitations and thrive with confidence, courage and hope. If you're curious to learn more about coaching with me, head to newwingscoachingnet and be sure to explore the show notes for ways to connect with me further. Get ready to dive in as we uncover empowering keys and insights in this episode. So tune in and let's unlock hope together. Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. Today, I'm actually, in essence, sharing a little bit about my behind the scenes story. Have you ever considered not sharing your story until the whole story is done? We feel like there's moments when we can only share once the breakthrough has happened, when the full circle testimony has occurred. We think we need the big ending before we speak up. So today I'm doing something different. I'm inviting you into the middle of my story In 2021, I walked away from a corporate job with steady income, benefits and structure because I heard the Lord say go.

Speaker 1: 1:32

He didn't give me a roadmap. He gave me a dream and the grace to face the future. It hasn't always been easy. The path has required faith over fear and obedience without full clarity. But Proverbs 31, 25 often reminds me, lately especially, she is clothed with dignity and strength. She can laugh at the days to come and that's the posture I'm choosing again and again. When I left that job I had a dream that the business called New Wings Coaching would financially meet or even exceed what I walked away from. And if you don't know, being a business owner, especially a kingdom business owner, takes the gift of faith. It's not an overnight success story and for most of us it's a slow build, a holy stretch. But I can say with full confidence the income I've received has exceeded anything I could have asked for, not financial income but soul income. I'm richer in peace, overflowing with joy. My physical health has improved and my intimacy with the Lord has gone deeper than I ever imagined. The fruits of the Spirit, especially peace, have multiplied my life and while I still believe for the financial promise, I know that for now the manna has sustained me. But I also know the milk and honey is coming. I wasn't called to go back to Egypt. There are no U-turns, no shrinking back. I'm facing the future and I'm singing my way through.

Speaker 1: 3:01

I call this season WAIT training, w-a-i-t training, because it's more than waiting. It's training, preparation, transformation and formation. In the waiting, god has trained my heart to hear him more clearly, let go of timelines, trust his character, not just outcomes and incomes. The wilderness isn't punishment, it's training ground. It's where I've learned to worship instead of worry, to surrender instead of strive, to lean in instead of run. And let me say this clearly waiting in the kingdom is not passive, it's warfare. It's standing on the promise even when you can't see the proof. It's resisting the lie that God has forgotten you. It's refusing to quit when the breakthrough feels so far away.

Speaker 1: 3:48

I used to believe I had to wait until the testimony was complete, until every piece made sense, but I felt compelled to share the here and now, not the polished ending, but the middle, the faith walk, the tension, the trust, because someone else might be walking it too and they need to know they're not alone, especially since this is the very work I help others with walking through the middle, unlocking what's next and refusing to turn back. One of the most powerful things I've learned in the process, and something I encourage my clients to do do is to celebrate before the celebration. It's not just a feel-good mindset, it's a prophetic faith act. It's declaring God I trust you before I see the breakthrough. It's throwing a praise party in the wilderness. It's aligning your spirit with heaven's yes, even when the answer hasn't shown up yet on earth. Celebration becomes a weapon, a posture, a holy yes that says I believe you're good and I believe you're coming through. So here I am, celebrating in the middle, and maybe this is your middle too.

Speaker 1: 4:57

If you're in a wilderness season, if you've left your version of Egypt, if you're walking without a clear map, this is for you. You are not stuck, you are not forgotten. You are being strengthened and he waits with you in the waiting. Your story isn't on pause. It's being written. You don't have to wait until it's finished to be bold with your voice. You can face the future now, because God is already there. This is your weight training, this is your preparation for promise. And if you feel like giving up, hear me, don't. You're closer than you think and God finishes what he starts. Let's declare this together.

Speaker 1: 5:38

I am clothed in strength and dignity. I face the future with hope. I laugh the days to come because God is already there. Face the future with hope. I laugh the days to come because God is already there. I will not go back to Egypt. I will not fear the wilderness. I am in weight training and the weight is not wasted. God is working behind the scenes and he is working within me. I walk by faith, not by sight. I celebrate before the celebration. I press forward even when the path is unclear. I declare that milk and honey are ahead. I was born to live unlocked and I will not settle for less. In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 1: 6:15

I don't know exactly what you're walking through right now. Maybe you're in the hallway between what was and what's next. Maybe you're standing in the tension of still believing. Maybe you feel the pull to go back to what's safe, but something inside you knows you can't. If that's you, I want to remind you. You're not behind, you're not off course. You're right where God has you and he is in it with you. He is faithful in every season. He catches every tear. He prepares a table in the wilderness, catches every tear, he prepares a table in the wilderness and he will lead you all the way to the promise. So keep walking, keep worshiping, keep celebrating, keep believing, because the promised land isn't for the ones who played it safe. It's for the faithful, the trailblazers, the women with Caleb and Joshua courage, the ones who face the future with grit and grace. Joshua Courage, the ones who face the future with grit and grace and friend, you are one of them. Let's keep going. Let's keep rising eyes forward, voice strong, feet moving because there's more ahead. Thank you.