Have you ever prayed and expected God to show up, and He did not? Do you have promises or prophetic words that have not come to pass yet? You are experiencing a divine delay. Before you step into unbelief or start questioning either God’s goodness or His integrity, please consider this.
I was rereading the story of Lazarus in my quiet time. I have read it so often, and every time I read it, I tend to learn something new from it. In the story, something very profound happens right in the beginning. Lazarus is dying, and his sister sends someone to go and tell Jesus. They come to Jesus and says: “Jesus, the one whom you love is sick.”
Yet, in this story, we see Jesus doing something strange. He waits two more days before He decides to go and see Lazarus.
John 11:6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (Jerusalem)
You would think that it is not so bad. We have had things to do, and we had to prioritize some things sometimes. When Jesus finally left to go and see Lazarus, he found that Lazarus had been dead for four days already. Bethany was only two miles away from Jerusalem – John 11:18. That means that when they told Jesus about Lazarus, he was already dead for two days because Jesus waited two more days. Did Jesus know that he was dead already? This is how Jesus responded when they told Him about Lazarus.
John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said: “This sickness is not unto death but for the Glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified through it.”
Why did Jesus wait? The response he gets from both Mary and Martha when He shows up in Bethany was typical of most of us. “If you were here, this would not have happened.” It is a statement of faith but also of frustration. Have you ever been frustrated with faith? You believed, but God did not show up when you needed Him most. God, where were you when my child needed you? God, where were you when my husband needed you? Why was there a delay this time?
The divine delay happens quite often in scripture. Think about Noah. God commanded him to build an ark. It took 120 years to complete. What happened during that time? We know Noah was a preacher of righteousness during that time.
2Pet. 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
How do I know it was a divine delay? God was longsuffering and waited for the people to repent before He sent the flood.
1 Pet 3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
What about Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was 75 years old when God promised him a son. Isaac was not born until he was 100 years old. Why the delay? During that time of waiting, Abraham would father another son, Ismael, a son through his own strength. God waited until Abraham could not produce out of his own strength anymore before God showed up to give him the promise – Rom 4:19-20.
The man at the pool of Bethesda in John five waited 38 years, seeing someone getting healed every time the Angel of God stirred the water. It almost seemed as if his fate was sealed. Then Jesus shows up. You have to think that he believed that something would happen for him sooner.
What about the three Hebrew men and the fire in Daniel chapter 2. I am sure they thought God could prevent it from happening. “God, just show up when we need you, please?” Alas, it did not occur on their timeline —another divine delay.
Think about Daniel and the Lion’s den. What about the 4000 years roughly from the time God gave Eve the promise that she will bear a seed, the messiah that would crush satans head. Why such a long delay?
In John chapter 2, we see a wedding, and Jesus is there. They run out of wine, and they tell Jesus. His response is excellent. “It is not my time yet.” There is a time when God moves, and it was not time to make water into wine yet. Mary, his mother, responded by saying: “Do whatever he tells you to do.” There is a primary key in what Mary says. Do what He tells you to do.
Are you experiencing a divine delay right now? Do what he told you to do. Please stop trying to figure it out and step back into obedience. Some of you want a financial breakthrough, but you have not given what He asked you to give. Some of you want to see a change in your family or your children, but you have not stopped talking negatively about them. Some of you want to see your promise fulfilled, but you have not stopped telling God how you want it done.
When someone is busy drowning, the guard will allow the swimmer to struggle until they are tired. If he gets there too soon, the person will grab him and pull him under as well. Once the swimmer is exhausted, they will help them not to drown. Stop struggling and surrender to His plan, and the divine delay will stop.
