Expect Delays

I was driving through my neighborhood when a bright orange sign glared at me: EXPECT DELAY.

Road construction crews were lining the streets as new pipes were being installed, and I immediately felt frustrated. My thoughts raced with anger and angst.

Why today?

How am I going to get where I’m going on time?

My normal routes are going to be rerouted.

How long is this going to last?

Honestly, these are my typical responses in life when I experience delays.

Whether it’s an airport, a deal, or a dream, delays often put me on edge, revealing my reliance on my plans versus the Master Planner. Then the alarm bells, aka the Holy Spirit, went off inside of me: “Is that really all it takes to get you upset? You’ve been given a warning sign to do exactly that: EXPECT DELAYS.”

Ouch. What if we expected delays instead of living in unmet expectations? Because unmet expectations sound a lot like this:

I thought I’d be married by now.

I thought we’d have children by now.

I thought we’d be further along financially.

I thought God would have answered that prayer by now.

I thought this business would have taken off.

I thought my child would be different.

I thought we’d have sold the house by now.

I thought I’d be healed already.

I thought I’d know what God was doing by now.

Maybe your sentence is different. But we all have one. And sometimes the space between what we thought would happen and what is actually happening is where frustration, disappointment, and even bitterness begin to grow.

I’m not talking about walking around expecting bad things to happen. I’m talking about having a full understanding that just because something is our plan doesn’t mean it is God’s plan.

Over and over again in Scripture, we are encouraged toward endurance. Why? Because God knows we will experience delays. But delays do not mean defeat.

“Don’t grow weary in doing good.” Galatians 6:9

“Renew your strength.” Isaiah 40:31

“Don’t fear.” Joshua 1:9

“Persevere and finish the race.” Hebrews 12:1

I’m not proud of this, but I’ll honestly share that I have rolled my eyes as, six months later, I’m still driving down my street full of construction. Especially when I see the construction crews on their cell phones or gathered under a tree on private property just hanging out!

I’m not thinking, maybe it’s 100 degrees in Texas. I’m not wondering if someone had a family emergency. I’m thinking about my own inconvenience. And that’s the uncomfortable truth about delays. They reveal what’s happening inside of us. It reveals impatience, selfishness, and distrust.

As someone who wholeheartedly believes people should do what they say they’ll do, show up, and work hard, I’ve had to learn the brutal truth that we can’t control ANYTHING or ANYONE except our own decisions. And those decisions include how we respond to life’s delays.

If we come to EXPECT delays, we think differently.

We leave earlier.

We pack snacks.

We bring a book.

Or, if you’re like me, you have a running list of things that need to be accomplished so you don’t feel like you’re wasting time.

Because some delays are just delays, but some delays are divine. God does not waste our time. And sometimes, in seasons of waiting, God isn’t saying no, He’s preparing us for a grand entrance.

When I wrote my first book, You Are Not Who You Think You Are, it was ten years in the making. Not because I wasn’t willing. Not because I wasn’t doing the work. But because God was doing a work in me.

The delay wasn’t punishment. It was preparation. And maybe that’s what we need to remember when we find ourselves frustrated by how long something is taking. Delays give us space to prepare for what’s ahead. Because if we spend our lives frustrated that we’re not where we want to be, we can miss the beauty being forged in the here and now.

We’ll live angry.

We’ll become bitter.

We’ll miss moments we can never get back.

And we may even miss what God is doing in us while we’re so focused on where we think we should be.

So I’m learning, perhaps not so graciously, to EXPECT DELAYS. And maybe, just maybe, I’m learning to embrace them. Because the next time I see that bright orange sign, I hope I remember: The delay may not be in my way, it may be part of the way.