Delayed is Not Denied

Sometimes it seems to take so long for our dreams to come true that we get discouraged and begin to think that God has stamped "NO" all over our prayer requests. But I want to encourage you that God's timing is completely different from ours, and the fact that our blessing is delayed does not equal denied.

I am immediately reminded of Abram/Abraham, who was promised by God that he would become a great nation. (Genesis 12: 1-3). He received this promise when he was 75 years old.

At the time God promised him that his seed would outnumber the sand on the shore (Genesis 13:16), Abram didn't have a single child! Can you imagine how he felt? Promised millions, when he had none!

It would have been easier had his wife immediately become pregnant with a child. But that was not to be. Abram and Sarai (later named Sarah) traveled through many lands and remained childless year after year. Finally, after about 10 years, Sarai got fed up with waiting and came up with an alternative plan to get the child she so desperately wanted. In Genesis 16, Sarai talks Abram into moving into her plan rather than waiting on God. Have you ever done that? Has it ever seemed that maybe God forgot what he promised you, or has it been so long since you received the promise that you feel like it will never come to pass?

Don't forget - delayed is not denied! God takes us through a process of time in order to refine and purify us before placing His promises into our reality. We have to be careful not to move outside of God's plan for us. Abram and Sarai's alternate plan has been a source of contention ever since Ishmael was conceived. We cannot afford to get tired in the waiting process.

It was years later, when Abram was 99, that God decided the timing was right for the blessing. In Genesis 17, God re-established his covenant, changing both Abram and Sarai's names. God also reminded Abram (now Abraham) that it was through his wife Sarai (now Sarah) that the child that was promised would be born.

Here's something to ponder: Abraham got the news and it was too incredible! He thought (Genesis 17:17-18) that at their ages, it was just incredible. He even asked God to accept his "plan B" offspring in place of what had been promised to him years ago. But before you criticize Abraham, ask yourself how many times you've settled for less than God's best, and then asked God to bless it.

But that's not the point. The point is that when God spoke the original promise, he meant it. He did not put a time limit on when it would happen, he just promised that it would. What we have to do in the meantime (that time between the promise and its fulfillment), is maintain our faith and patience.

Faith and patience are the ingredients key to our possessing the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). We have to be fully convinced that the God who made the promise is faithful to bring it to pass. Romans 4:20-21 puts it this way, speaking of Abraham: He did not waver in unbelief at God's promise, but he was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what He has promised He was also able to perform. (HCSB).

I pray that you are encouraged by this -- even though it may take a while for God's promises to come to pass, he has not forgotten you! Grab ahold to your faith! Gear up to ride out the entire process that God has designed for you, no matter how long it takes. Remember, delayed does not equal denied!