God’s Refining Season: Lessons From Eberechi Eze’s Hat-Trick

This has to be my most impromptu post yet. I usually let my drafts sit for a week, but this one spilt out of me just three days ago, and honestly, it spoke to me more than I expected.

This may surprise some of you, but I love watching football lol. And last week’s Arsenal vs Tottenham North London derby was high stakes, high tension – everything you’d expect.

But the real highlight wasn’t just the scoreline; it was Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick.

Now, footballers score hat-tricks. It’s not unheard of. But what truly touched me was what Eze said after the match:

“I prayed for it today… a hat-trick, and God gave it to me.”

Guys… this wasn’t luck.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
This was a man confidently involving God in the details of his life, and God honouring it.

And it reminded me: God cares about everything that concerns us. Nothing is too small to pray about. Nothing is too “ordinary” for Him.

Eberechi Eze’s full-Circle God Moment

Seeing Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick turn into a full-circle moment truly reminded me of how perfect God’s timing is.

Let me give you some backstory:

• Eze joined Arsenal’s academy as a child in 2006.
• At 13, Arsenal released him.
• He trialled at several clubs that didn’t offer him a contract.
• Just as he planned to enrol in college and find a part-time job, he got another chance – QPR took him in. He developed, matured, and finally turned pro.
• He later moved to Crystal Palace.
• In August 2025, Arsenal signed him back, ending a 14-year journey back to where his football story began.

Imagine that.
Rejected → Refined → Restored.

Full circle.
In God’s timing.

And now, just a few months after joining Arsenal, he scores a Premier League hat-trick in the North London derby and publicly gives glory to God.

This is what spiritual growth looks like behind the scenes.
This is how God prepares us in hidden seasons.

What Eberechi Eze’s Hat-Trick Taught Me About God’s Timing

Eze could have carried bitterness from being released at 13.
He could have allowed rejection to define him.
He could have slowed down or given up.

But he didn’t.

He worked hard. He grew. He matured. He stayed faithful.
And when God opened the door back to Arsenal, he was ready.

God was refining him away from the spotlight so that when the moment arrived, he would step into it prepared.

Sometimes what feels like a “demotion” is actually development.
Sometimes what feels like “God closing a door” is Him preparing you for a bigger one.

Just like Eze, many of us are in seasons of refining – times when it feels quiet, unseen, or slow. But this is exactly how God prepares us in hidden seasons – shaping us privately before He elevates us publicly.
If you remain faithful in the small things, God will trust you with more.

3 Traps to Avoid While God Is Preparing You

1. The Trap of “Not Good Enough”

Arsenal rejected Eze at 13.
Imagine if he had accepted that as his identity.

You might feel like you’re not enough. Perhaps someone underestimated you.
Maybe a door has closed. Perhaps your progress seems slow.

But rejection doesn’t define you. God does.

Remember David:
He was anointed as king (1Sam 16:1-13) but went straight back to tending sheep.
Not because God forgot him, but because God needed to refine him before the crown.

Your “field season” is not a failure. It is formation.

A Real-Life Parallel: When You Don’t Get the Promotion You Prayed For.

Imagine you’ve been working toward a promotion. You’re giving your best. You’re staying committed. You’re hopeful and expectant because the vacancy is finally available.

But then, it goes to someone else.

Would you stop giving 100%?
It’s easy to, right?
It’s easy to shrink back, feel overlooked, or let jealousy whisper that you’re wasting time.

But Eze’s story reminds me of this:

Sometimes God has something better lined up, and sometimes you’re still in your refining season.

If we truly trust God’s timing, then even the disappointments become part of His process.

You keep showing up.
You keep serving with excellence.
You keep doing your best.

Because:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man.”  Colossians 3:23

Your excellence is unto God.
Your growth is in His hands.
Your elevation will come when He decides the time is right.

2. The Trap of Overthinking

Overthinking convinces us we need to control everything:

• “Why hasn’t it happened yet?”
• “What if I missed my chance?”
• “Maybe I’m supposed to force a door open.”

But overwhelm comes from trying to understand what God hasn’t explained.

God holds the hearts of kings.
He can position the right people to favour you.
You don’t need to force anything that God has closed for now.
Trust God.
Move when He says move, not when fear tells you to panic.

3. The Trap of Mediocrity

When we’ve been disappointed, it’s easy to settle.
To shrink.
To accept a smaller version of ourselves.

But mediocrity is not your portion.

When God calls you to something, excuses rise – just like Moses when God called him to confront Pharaoh. Moses doubted himself so much that he told God to send someone else (Exodus 4:13)

But here’s the truth:

You were created on purpose, for purpose, to bring glory to God.
You are not an accident.
You are not “average.”
You are called.

Step out of the “I’m not meant for more” mindset into the “God made me for more” mindset.

Don’t Limit What God Can Do Through You

One line from a comment I read about Eberechi Eze’s Hat-trick stuck with me:

“He only asked God for three goals… 4 wasn’t part of the plan’

This comment was made because Eze almost scored a 4^th goal!

Now, I’m not saying Eze limited God, but that phrase “only asked” made me pause.

The Bible says, ASK….and we shall receive.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.       Matthew 7:7-8

The Holy Spirit then reminded me of the story of Prophet Elisha and the king in 2 Kings 13.

• Elisha was on his deathbed.
• He called the king of Israel to him and had the king take a bow and arrows.
• Elisha instructed the king to shoot an arrow out the window, which he said represented the “arrow of the Lord’s victory” over Aram.
• Then, Elisha told the king, “Take the arrows” and “strike the ground.”.
• The king struck the ground three times with the arrows and stopped.

Elisha then said to him: ….“You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.

Sometimes our prayers are too small.
Our expectations are too safe.
We ask for “just enough” when God is ready to give “abundantly more.”

This isn’t about greed.
It’s about faith.

As We Approach 2026… Ask Big. Believe Big. Pray Boldly.

2025 is closing.
And 2026 will be a defining year for many of us.

Don’t enter a new year timidly.
Don’t crossover with fear-filled prayers.
Don’t diminish your expectations.

Ask God for the big things.
Pray boldly.
Prepare your heart.
Step into the year with faith, not fear.

Because when God is ready to showcase you to the world, nothing can diminish the light He placed within you.

Final Thoughts

My next blog post will be my final one for 2025 – I’ll share my reflections on this year, my vision for 2026, and offer some encouragement as we welcome a brand-new year.

But until then, let this sink in:

God is refining you.
God is preparing you.
And when the moment arrives, just like Eze,
You will be ready, bold, and shining for His glory.

If you missed my last blog post on stepping out of your comfort zone, check it out here.