Categories: Devotionals

March 16: When God Delays

Key Scripture

John 11:6 (NKJV) “So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.”

This verse can feel confusing.

Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick. He loved Lazarus. He had the power to heal him. Yet He stayed two more days.

Delay.

Sometimes the hardest part of prayer is not rejection. It is waiting. It is knowing that God can act, believing that He cares, yet watching time pass without visible change.

But delay is not indifference.

Jesus was not late. He was purposeful. His delay set the stage for greater glory. A healing would have been powerful. A resurrection would be undeniable.

When God delays, He is not ignoring you. He is often preparing something deeper than you requested. He may be strengthening your faith. He may be aligning circumstances. He may be orchestrating a testimony that will impact more than you imagined.

Martha and Mary experienced confusion before they experienced miracle. They felt disappointment before they saw resurrection.

If you are in a season of waiting, do not assume abandonment. God’s silence is not absence. His timing is not careless. What feels late to you is perfectly aligned to Him.

Keep praying.

Delay tests endurance. Delay purifies motives. Delay strengthens trust.

And when the moment arrives, you will understand why He waited.

Pray until something happens. And trust Him even when it seems nothing is happening.

Prayer

Lord, strengthen me in seasons of delay. Guard my heart from doubt when answers seem slow. Help me to trust your timing more than my urgency. Deepen my faith while I wait. I believe that you are working even when I cannot see it. Amen.

Samuel Akintunde

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