Day 1 – What If Series by Alakowe
What if your delay isn't denial, but God's preparation for destiny?
We live in a world that hates waiting. Everyone wants everything instantly — instant food, instant success, instant answers. But heaven's timetable is rarely instant. Many times, what looks like delay to us is actually divine design.
What if the season you call "wasted time" is the very ground where God is planting unseen roots? What if the job you lost, the opportunity that slipped away, or the relationship that didn't work out was not rejection, but redirection?
Joseph, the son of Jacob, knew the weight of delay. At 17, he dreamed of greatness, but the next years of his life looked like anything but greatness. He was betrayed, sold into slavery, wrongly accused, and thrown into prison. For over a decade, it seemed like God had forgotten him. But Genesis 41 reminds us that "at the end of two full years" Pharaoh had a dream, and Joseph's gift was finally remembered. His delay was not denial — it was preparation. Without the pit and the prison, Joseph would not have been ready for the palace.
The Bible says in Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV): "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
And again in Isaiah 40:31 (KJV): "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Waiting is not weakness. It is a sacred classroom where God builds strength, character, and dependence. What you think is a pause may actually be a process. What looks like stagnation is preparation.
Encouragement
Delay is not your enemy. In fact, delay is often the proof that God is building something bigger than your timeline can carry. You are not late. You are not behind. You are being prepared for a fullness that others cannot yet see.
Don't measure your progress by the speed of others. Some plants sprout in weeks, others take years before they break the soil — but when they finally grow, they tower high and unshakable.
If it feels like God is taking too long, it may be because He is writing a story that won't collapse under pressure.
Reflection Questions
1. Am I interpreting my current waiting season as punishment instead of preparation?
2. Where in my life have I seen God use delay to protect me from something I didn't see?
3. How can I shift my focus from frustration in waiting to trust in God's timing?
Prayer
Father, thank You for reminding me that delay is not denial. Teach me to see waiting as a gift and not a curse. Strengthen my heart when impatience rises. Help me to trust Your timing, knowing that You make all things beautiful in their time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). I surrender my clocks and calendars to You, and I choose to rest in the assurance that You are preparing me for something greater. Amen.