When God Delays You

When God delays you, in whatever you are waiting for, the arrangements are being worked out. Period.

So often we are impatient, we want what we want, when we want it. We can experience a host of feelings as a result of this impatience. At times, we get angry with God. Sometimes we beg. At other times, we decide to "check-out", resigning that God has forgotten about us, and the desires of our heart will not be fulfilled. I know these truths all too well because on any given day, while I am waiting for all that I have asked God for, I have felt these feelings.

Don't despair, the arrangements are being made for you, with you, and through you. There was once an illustration I heard that helps me when I become impatient. It was an image of how I perceive my future versus how God sees it. It was presented this way:

"Suppose you were walking down the street, knowing where you wanted to go, and your focus was on which street to take but, knowing that your range of vision is limited, you take it one block at a time, trusting that when the street you need next arrives, you will be able to make the necessary maneuvers".

"Now that you're walking down this street and focused on the path in front of you, suppose now that there is a helicopter above you."

"Although you are aware of which streets you need to take to arrive at your destination, the pilot of the helicopter can see what is currently going on in the places you haven't arrived at. Even though there isn't much communication between you and the pilot, if necessary, should you go down a street that will lead you to a dead end, the pilot will know before you, simply because of its range of vision. If you should continue down that path, somehow the pilot has a way of redirecting you."

We are all walking in this world, sometimes with a map, sometimes without one. We are the lone travelers on this earth, on a journey. God is the pilot of the helicopter, with exact and whole vision, He sees where we're going, what is happening there, and the best route for us to take in order to get there. Sure, He may not always share this information with us, perhaps we wouldn't listen when and if we got it. But trusting that there is a pilot that will re-direct us if we get lost is at the core of understanding our faith. We will travel to dead ends; God will allow us to be delayed. However, we should all know, when God delays us, it is simply so that all the arrangements can be made.

He sees the next move, the destination, and knows your strength. We will not walk longer than we need to, nor will we tire from our walk.

When there is nothing left but hope and faith, remember:

When God delays you, the arrangements are being worked out in us, through us, and for us.