Have you ever been tempted to act but somehow knew that you should wait? Have you ever thought that the timing was right for a particular decision, only to later discover that you had talked yourself into deception? God wants you to experience the power of receiving the right thing at the right time. God plans to send answers in response to your prayers, but waiting for Him is not always easy. Let's face it: Waiting is tough. Waiting is frustrating. And, if we're honest with ourselves, we can all agree that waiting stinks!
Waiting is especially hard in our microwave millennium. We are often judged by how quickly we reach the proverbial brass ring. If we are not happily married with two children, making a six-figure income, living in a five-bedroom house and enjoying all the finer things in life by age 35, we're labelled as someone who's behind schedule. Questions from well-meaning friends and family members can also make us feel inferior to people who have seemingly "arrived". We all have someone in our lives who is bold enough to ask, "So, when are you getting married?" or "Don't you want to have children?" or, worse, "Isn't it time for you to get a job that pays real money?"
In reality, most of us judge our insides by other people's outsides. The pressure to conform to unwritten timelines set by society is intense. However, comparing ourselves to others only leads to jealousy, envy, competition and discouragement. There comes a time when we must leave the driving of our dream to God. He has established a unique timeline for our life. Our lives are similar to fruit-bearing trees; different kinds of fruit ripen and mature at different seasons. Similarly, we each have a timetable wherein we blossom and ripen into the purposes of God. The Bible declares, "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11, AMP). The rate at which our life's purpose is achieved is not always determined by our own efforts or schedules; it is also based on God's divine timing.
Throughout history, the Lord has used divine delays to bring His people to their ultimate purpose. A divine delay occurs when God postpones answering a prayer, even though the person posing the request is in right standing with Him. This delay is orchestrated and ordained by God.
Yes, it is a slow route to our destination. Yes, it is a rocky route. And yes, there is not much we can do to speed up the process. But divine delays are not denials. And they are not necessarily caused by human error, by lack of faith, or by disobedience. Divine delays occur when the desire of a person's heart is being withheld for a period of time and when that desire will only be released at God's appointed time. If, through no fault of your own, you are experiencing unexpected setbacks, unplanned hindrances, and unanswered prayers, you may be in a season of divine delay.
God provides powerful pictures of divine delays in Scripture. For example, God promised Abraham a son. But it was 25 years before Isaac was born to Abraham and his wife, Sarah. God also promised to give Abraham land for his inheritance. Yet that promise was not fulfilled for another 400 years. Further, God promised Moses a Saviour, but Jesus did not appear until about 1200 years later. Through Jesus Christ, God promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His Church, and the disciples were told to go to the upper room and wait. Fifty days after Jesus ascended into heaven, on the Day of Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit came on the scene.
These are only a few of the many pictures of God's divine delays. In each delay, there is a powerful story depicting God's genius at work. His track record proves that delays are not denials. God's design also shows that our lives are intricately connected to those around us and that His plan for the world will ultimately be fulfilled as we allow Him to use us according to His timetable.
- Marlinda Ireland, What is God Waiting For?: Understanding Divine Delays in Your Life
link: waiting in the Psalms (6 sep 09)
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