God's Delays

"God's delays are not God's denials, Lora." 

The words ripped a little hole in the knot in my stomach. Peace seeped in. 

For months I had gone head-to-toe with weak sentences and useless paragraphs that littered my novel. No matter how hard I worked and how many hours I put in, I still couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

And an editor was waiting for it. 

For the first time after writing 10 books, a devotional, and a blog I finally have a professional interested in my work. It has taken me over a decade to get here. You can imagine the fear and anxiety I feel as the months slip away. I worry they take my opportunities along with them. 

Yesterday I unloaded on the CEO of CLASSeminars (a Christian Writers and Speakers Organization). I confessed my fears and God sent me a message through this dear lady's advice: Trust in God's timing, always. God's delays are not God's denials.

Life often obstructs forward motion and causes us to feel we are failing, yet God makes no mistakes. We are on His path. We are on His timeline. We are in His plans. 

I got off the phone with Gerry and God's hope filled me.
 
I needed that.
 
It isn’t just my writing that feels stagnant, Micaela is going through a rough patch. She hasn’t taken to her new walker. Our encouragement and practice seems to get us nowhere.

But, God’s delay is not God’s denial, I remind myself. Just because progress is slow and often invisible, doesn’t mean she will never learn how to use this adaptive equipment.
 
I look around at my life and see so many things that I must wait patiently for. I must continue the work and keep my faith in an all-seeing God who has a purpose for what He has called me to do. 
 
We might never know why He makes us wait, but His purposes are great. Trust in His love. 
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