“God, what
am I going to do if this doesn’t come through?” you ask.
And then, it doesn’t.
That’s when you find out what you’ll do.
You’ll wait.
There’s nothing else to do.
But how you wait, well, that’s up to you.
It never entered my mind that there would be a delay in the arrival of the package. Every time I had done business with this particular corporate client, any information, products or files they were supposed to send were sent in a timely manner—sometimes, earlier than expected.
So when word came from this established entity that the delivery date was all set, we planned everything around it.
As a result, meetings and events were scheduled, and guarantees were given to other partners involved, based on the expected time of arrival. But when the big day came, what we were anticipating, did not.
No package, no files, no nothing.
Not good.
But still, no one on our team panicked.
Even though the delay was an inconvenience, as long as the information showed up the following day, we could still salvage our timeline and be alright.
Day 2 came and went.
Uh-oh.
Now we had a problem.
Mail could not be delivered on Sunday, so we would have to wait until Monday to find out what happened.
After making an inquiry about the breakdown at the top of the week, the dreaded news was confirmed. “A processing error” due to a system glitch, was the culprit. So we could expect 2-3 more days of waiting.
When my assistant delivered the news to me, my heart sank.
Our plans were turned upside down and there was no way we could follow through on our original ideas.
It was a disaster and upsetting enough that we were inconvenienced. But, to make matters worse, the individuals relying on us to come through were equally put off by this whole thing.
Have you ever had a personal setback that ended up creating a problem for you, as well as those tied to you?
No fun, right?
Even though I didn’t like the whole thing, there was nothing that could be done about it. So my team and I had to accept the setback, pray for God’s favor during the process, and readjust our scheduling.
Throwing a tantrum, sinking into depression, or obsessing over what the outcome would be, would not have changed it. So I skipped those unnecessary (even if tempting) steps.
Unfortunate and all, we made it through.
I won’t pretend that it didn’t work on my nerves, but it also wasn’t the end of the world.
Friend, sometimes in life, things just don’t work out according to our plans. Deadlines come and go, and the thing we were praying, hoping, and expecting to happen, doesn’t.
Disappointments feel awful, I know.
But there will always be things beyond our control.
So then, since we cannot avoid unexpected delays, no matter who we are, we have to learn to deal with them with a good attitude, by trusting God to work it all out for our good in the end.
See, it’s easy to have faith when everything is flowing your way. But what about when nothing is going your way? How about when life deals unexpected blows that leave you hurt, aggravated, and confused about what in the world God is doing?
Will you stand firmly in faith then?
To remind you to keep on believing, I’m stirring Hebrews 10:23 NIV into your cup of inspiration. It says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you will be reminded that it is through the delays that God relays the importance of facing uncertain circumstances with unflinching faith.
When troubles try your faith and challenge your confidence in God, be unrelenting in your belief that the same God who brought you out before, will do it again.
Now let's pray.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
God, there are some needs in my life I have been praying would be met by now. Yet, I am still waiting and trusting You to bring me through. In the process, please help me not to be discouraged, but rather, to remain steadfast in faith that my breakthrough will come at the appointed time. In Jesus' name, Amen.
If you need prayer, don't hesitate to request it. I would be honored to stand in faith with you. I know that prayer works. CLICK HERE to learn how to submit your prayer request.
