diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/lock/DynamoDbLockRegistry.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/lock/DynamoDbLockRegistry.java
index 0892e64..667e8f7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/lock/DynamoDbLockRegistry.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/lock/DynamoDbLockRegistry.java
@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ public class DynamoDbLockRegistry implements ExpirableLockRegistry, Initializing
 	 */
 	private boolean executorExplicitlySet;
 
+	private volatile boolean initialized;
+
 
 	public DynamoDbLockRegistry(AmazonDynamoDB dynamoDB) {
 		this(dynamoDB, DEFAULT_TABLE_NAME);
@@ -279,9 +281,14 @@ public class DynamoDbLockRegistry implements ExpirableLockRegistry, Initializing
 				this.createTableLatch.countDown();
 			}
 		});
+
+		this.initialized = true;
 	}
 
 	private void awaitForActive() {
+		Assert.state(this.initialized, () -> "The component has not been initialized: " + this +
+				".\n Is it declared as a bean?");
+
 		IllegalStateException illegalStateException =
 				new IllegalStateException(
 						"The DynamoDb table " + this.tableName + " has not been created during " + 60 + " seconds");
@@ -326,6 +333,20 @@ public class DynamoDbLockRegistry implements ExpirableLockRegistry, Initializing
 		}
 	}
 
+	@Override
+	public String toString() {
+		return "DynamoDbLockRegistry{" + "tableName='" + this.tableName + '\'' +
+				", readCapacity=" + this.readCapacity +
+				", writeCapacity=" + this.writeCapacity +
+				", partitionKey='" + this.partitionKey + '\'' +
+				", sortKeyName='" + this.sortKeyName + '\'' +
+				", sortKey='" + this.sortKey + '\'' +
+				", refreshPeriod=" + this.refreshPeriod +
+				", leaseDuration=" + this.leaseDuration +
+				", heartbeatPeriod=" + this.heartbeatPeriod +
+				'}';
+	}
+
 	private final class DynamoDbLock implements Lock {
 
 		private final ReentrantLock delegate = new ReentrantLock();
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/metadata/DynamoDbMetaDataStore.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/metadata/DynamoDbMetaDataStore.java
index e8ce6c4..c5a5797 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/metadata/DynamoDbMetaDataStore.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/aws/metadata/DynamoDbMetaDataStore.java
@@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ public class DynamoDbMetaDataStore implements ConcurrentMetadataStore, Initializ
 
 	private Integer timeToLive;
 
+	private volatile boolean initialized;
+
 	public DynamoDbMetaDataStore(AmazonDynamoDBAsync dynamoDB) {
 		this(dynamoDB, DEFAULT_TABLE_NAME);
 	}
@@ -202,6 +204,8 @@ public class DynamoDbMetaDataStore implements ConcurrentMetadataStore, Initializ
 					}
 
 				});
+
+		this.initialized = true;
 	}
 
 	private void updateTimeToLiveIfAny() {
@@ -226,6 +230,8 @@ public class DynamoDbMetaDataStore implements ConcurrentMetadataStore, Initializ
 	}
 
 	private void awaitForActive() {
+		Assert.state(this.initialized, () -> "The component has not been initialized: " + this +
+				".\n Is it declared as a bean?");
 		try {
 			this.createTableLatch.await(this.createTableRetries * this.createTableDelay, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 		}
@@ -359,4 +365,14 @@ public class DynamoDbMetaDataStore implements ConcurrentMetadataStore, Initializ
 		}
 	}
 
+	@Override
+	public String toString() {
+		return "DynamoDbMetaDataStore{" + "table=" + this.table +
+				", createTableRetries=" + this.createTableRetries +
+				", createTableDelay=" + this.createTableDelay +
+				", readCapacity=" + this.readCapacity +
+				", writeCapacity=" + this.writeCapacity +
+				", timeToLive=" + this.timeToLive +
+				'}';
+	}
 }