Delayed again…
In the Detroit airport getting ready to fly to Georgia for the week. Decided to sleep in a little and make it to the airport just in time - I timed things perfectly (I thought). Here’s the problem: no traffic so the 80 minute commute only took 50 minutes, and then I was notified that my flight is delayed for at least an hour. Instead of running directly to my gate, I’m sitting in the club for at least two hours - could have slept in longer…
One more time, I do my part but circumstances out of my control cause a delay…
It seems like much of my life has been very similar, I try to do the right thing, but delays happen anyhow…
Even God often doesn’t seem in a hurry. The Bible teaches me to be willing and obedient; yet when I finally wrestle things down to come to faith, God seems to delay my progress. Am I the only one who feels these things? Have you ever noticed that God seems more interested in your “faith” than the object of your faith? Ever noticed there is a delay built into God’s response?
“…so don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Luke 18:7-8
I have a few things to say about the above verses:
First, God expects us to have to wrestle some stuff down, to work some things out, He expects us sometimes to “cry out to Him day and night”.
Second, He asks “will He keep putting them off”? The answer is of course no, but the emphasis is on “keep”. Let me help you here, God won’t keep putting us off, but He will long enough to strengthen our resolve and our faith.
Third, God uses the word “quickly”, but God’s definition of “quickly” and our’s often differ greatly.
Fourth, when the end of days comes, He isn’t looking for all of our faith filled prayers to be answered, He’s looking for our prayers to still be filled with faith.
An older gentleman taught me something years ago as I waited impatiently for God to show up to fulfill a promise. He spoke these words that have never left me, they are burned into my soul - “God’s delay is not necessarily God’s denial…”
God’s delay is actually meant to fortify our faith and maturity. So I grumble a little less these days about delays, I usually try to find the reason for them. Take today’s delay for instance, it allowed me to share these thoughts…
