Weather Delays

What a crazy morning. A healthy snowfall visited early yesterday morning, creating havoc in the morning commute.  Even in the middle of the night, a 15 minute drive doubled.

A friend made a trip that should have barely taken an hour; maybe an additional half hour depending on traffic... he arrived three and a quater hours later.

The first stretch of my day, should have taken an hour... two and a half hours later!

Later in the day, a business owner told me his 45 milute commute... yeah, four hours later.

Weather delays... ugh! Beyond our control; but you simply can't rush and run through traffic, routes and processes to make up for it. 

We don't like spiritual delays.   We don't like waiting.

We know God's timing His perfect. That He is never late, nor slow concerning us. We pray, come quickly.

Yet there are spiritual processes. Situations and circumstances beyond our knowledge. At times, we have a role to play in these processes.

Consider Christ' words to the disciples, when they couldn't cast out the demon. Prayer and fasting.

Yet what really launched this thought-process? Daniel's encounter with the angel, in his vision. And the angel tells Daniel, he would have arrived sooner, except the prince of Persia delayed him 21 days.

Faith is simple. Yet, in the internal struggle of man, the understanding and perseverance to continue in the fath is incredibly complex. In this "Me. Now." minset that has permeated our culture and society, we don't like to hear God say "wait".  Who knows how people would respond if in a vision, an angel said to them, I would have been here sooner, but I was delayed. 

Not for five minutes. Nor for five hours. Not even five days. But three weeks!!

What's more amazing... is that for the believer and the pastor, it's amazing how quickly the mind paces, trying to understand what is going on spiritually... are we not asking according to God's will; have we not fasted and prayed to the extent we needed to do so; or are we just waiting. God is soverign, so I know He wasn't surpised by the price of Persia... nor is He caught off-guard by any ofther challenge or difficult of circumstance in which we find ourselves.

On this #youthPastorWednesday, pray for pastors, feeling as though they are battling super-natural barriers and experiencing spiritual delays. May God encourage them to continue to persevere in the work and faith they have lived. Pray they be reminded that God is not slow as some perceive slowness. Pray God would quicken their hearts and minds to continue to seek the face of God. May they not be discouraged, but may their spirit bear witness; that God will use their experience to strengthen and encourage fhose around them.  While understanding God has a plan and a purpose, may God use them to minister to others, experiencing delays in the spiritual realm.

To Him who is able to do more than we can ask or imagine;
All glory, honor and power
To Him who sits on the throne...
Over our lives; over the weather
He speaks peace to our storms.

- PNC

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