Devotional – A Divinely Ordained Delay (Part 2)

The steps of the righteous man are ordered by
the Lord…Psalm 37:23

Recently
I saw a post on Facebook which said that sometimes God delays us where we are
because He knows that there is a storm ahead. 
I was really encouraged as I meditated on this thought.  Our loving Father, who sees danger ahead,
prevents us from moving forward as the danger ahead is not part of His plan for
us.

Then a
few days later as I was chitchatting with my co-worker, she related how the
previous afternoon she was delayed at the office until 6 pm as she could not
find her car keys. She had retraced her steps to areas of the office that she
had been to before and searched her bag several times. She even emptied the
contents and searched the various compartments of her bag to no avail. At the
end of her rope, she called out to God in her distress. Immediately, He
answered by telling her to check her bag one more time. Of course, she resisted
the idea because she had checked several times before.  Nevertheless, she obeyed, and lo and behold,
there were her keys, in a “secret compartment” of her bag. How could she have
missed it so many times?

As she
shared the story, I remembered the Facebook post from a few days earlier and I
said to her “God delayed you to protect you from danger”.  I knew for sure in my heart this was the case
of a God-ordained delay and she agreed wholeheartedly with me. We have no idea
what the danger was – it could have been a minor or major accident, a shootout,
a flat tyre – the list is endless. But most importantly, our Sovereign God saw
it fit to protect her from it, whatever it was. The workday ended at 5pm but He
delayed her until 6pm until the danger had passed. What a mighty God!

The Word
of God says that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. God in His
wisdom was ordering the steps of my friend preventing her from suffering harm.
When we entrust our lives in His hands, He watches over our every step. He
allows nothing to happen to us outside of His will. With this in mind, we can be
at peace, knowing that our God is in control. He who holds the future holds us
safely in His hands. There is therefore nothing to fear.

How about
you? You may feel like you’ve been waiting on God for what seems like forever.
Trust Him. He has good plans for you. He is ordering your steps. He could be
preserving you from harm. What seems like a setback or a delay could prove to
be a blessing in disguise. You may not be able to see it right now, but one day
you might look back and realize that He did you a huge favour. He causes all
things to work together for your good, so instead of murmuring and complaining
when minor irritants pop up, exercise patience. Patience is a fruit of the
spirit and it’s a virtue with a lot of ‘wait.’  Rejoice. He’s got your back!

 Reflection

1.      
How do you respond when
setbacks or minor irritations interrupt your day?

2.      
Are you satisfied with
your response and if not, what do you need to do?

3.      
What lessons can you
learn from these setbacks and irritations?

Prayer

Father,
thank you that you order our steps. Thank you for building a hedge of
protection around us so that we come to no harm. Thank you that even if we come
to harm, you have allowed t for a purpose. Help us to trust in you and learn
the lessons you are teaching us. In Jesus, name. Amen.