We are all facing delays right now.
Things are turning out differently than we expected at the beginning of the year, and it’s changing day by day.
Moment by moment, different delays are coming.
Things that we thought were going to happen and are not happening now.
Every single one of us is facing something in a delay.
This brought me back to our vacation last summer.
In our family, my wife plans these epic, awesome vacations.
Angel had put together a wonderful vacation where we were going to go up to Quebec City, Montreal, and Toronto.
She had it all planned out.
There were train rides, hiking and lots of walking.
About five days before the vacation, my daughter Gracyn breaks two bones in her foot.
Starting there, we have to re-imagine part of this vacation.
We were supposed to fly into Montreal and take a train to Quebec City.
We got on the plane, we’re going to Atlanta, and the next thing we know, we’re not going to Atlanta.
We are flying to Charleston, South Carolina.
There was a storm that caused a delay in the trip.
We wait for the storm that was in Atlanta to pass.
While the storm in Atlanta is passing, they find something’s broken on the plane.
We were in Charleston for seven or eight hours.
Finally, they put us on a plane and flew us to Atlanta.
By now, we’ve missed our connection to Montreal.
The train thing is not happening.
We’re sleeping in the Atlanta airport overnight.
We finally ended up getting a flight to Quebec City almost a day after we were supposed to arrive.
We had original vacation plans, and then we were delayed.
How many times does this happen in our lives, and we’re frustrated?
I’m thinking, “Hey, I had things I was going to do.”
And then a delay happens, and what do we do, and how do we deal with that?
As I was reflecting today, one of my favorite stories of delay is Joseph in Genesis.
I don’t know how well you know this account.
It starts in Genesis 37:5-11.
“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had, we were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright. While your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
His brother said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more, because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told that to his brothers. “Listen, I had another dream, and this time the sun and the moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me.”
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had, where your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bowed down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”
Joseph is a young man, about 14 or 15 years old.
God gives him a dream, and he shares it with his brothers.
You may not know the whole story.
He gets thrown into a pit.
He was sold into slavery.
He rises up in favor only to be falsely accused and thrown into prison.
Finally, after 14 years of delay, God fulfills the promise of his dream.
Joseph was given a dream.
What about you?
Has God given you a specific dream?
Is there something specific?
I think it’s interesting in scripture to see delays.
Joseph faces 14 years of delay before his prayer is answered.
Abraham waited 25 years between when God said he was going to have a son, and then he had a son born to Sarah.
We live in this microwave society where we get frustrated and angry over a delayed flight.
Are we losing patience with God?
Is God providing delays to refresh us?
Is there a lesson he needs us to learn before he can fulfill his promise?
Are we patient enough with him to wait on him?
Are we patient enough with the overall process to say, “God, I trust you, and I know you’ve given me this dream. I’m going to trust you to fulfill this dream in your time. And until it’s time for you to fulfill this dream, I’m going to wait patiently.”
As we look at this today, how can we find the good that God is creating inside of this situation?
Your intentional transformation has the potential to transform today, tomorrow, and eternity.
How can you use this time to think about how to intentionally transform and be patient when there are delays?
What are you doing to intentionally transform your life today?