I spent a few years at home before gaining admission into the University. I had my o’level results complete, but admission was not forthcoming. I never knew that that period would be one of the defining moments in my life and walk with the Lord. That delay was a blessing, not a curse!
Friend, it is true that there is time to every purpose but it is also true that there is a purpose for every time (Ecclesiastes 3:1). When you realise that God has a purpose for your delays you would separate distractions from destiny. You would stop asking, “why me?” and start asking, “why not me?” There is something God wants to achieve through your waiting period if only you can cooperate with Him.
Hannah used her period of bareness to get into intimacy with God and to align herself with divine purpose. She moved from complaints and strife to consecration and dedication to God (1 Samuel 1:10-11,27-28). She changed her perspective from what is not happening to her to what could happen. She moved from asking for a child to prove a point, to asking for a prophet to fulfil a purpose.
Anna turned her widowhood to a prayer ministry. She prayed the prophecy about Jesus into manifestation as she gave herself to fasting an prayers for the rest of her life (Luke 2:36-38). I used my time of delay to develop capacity for life and ministry. Most of the stuff I do today are products of investments of those years, close to two decades now.
Patience is not just about waiting, it is what you do while you wait. The question I want to ask you today is this, “what are you using your waiting period to do?” Are you maximising it to further God’s plan and purpose for your life, or are you using it to complain and waste away? Listen, there is no holiday in destiny. Even those seemingly silent and passive seasons of our lives can be the seasons of the greatest works of God.
As you go into today, I want you to change your perspective about your delays. Could there be a reason why you are not yet married or in a relationship now? Could it be that God wants you to use it develop more capacity for what lies ahead? Have you wondered why the job you desperately desired has not yet come? Could it be that God wants you to use the time to acquire relevant skills that would stand you out in the labour market?
May be that business or ministry that God once laid on your heart seemed to be delayed, don’t be in a hurry! Get God’s mind for this period of your life. The truth is this, some of us are going very far and high that God would have to take His time to prepare us well and dig us deep. Don’t compare yourself with others (2 Corinthians 10:12). Follow the schedule of God for your life and destiny, and maximize every single phase of the journey. You will succeed! Amen!
© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria