Delayed Blessings

Sometimes we're blessed when we're delayed, and sometimes we're delayed so we can be blessed!

I was sent this story the other day. I don't know the author, but if you do, please let me know who it is so I can give the proper credit!

Here's the story:
Man: God, can I ask You a question?

God: Sure

Man: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?

God: What do you mean?

Man: Well, I woke up late

God: Yes

Man: My car took forever to start

God: Okay

Man: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait

God: Hmmm

Man: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call

God: All right

Man: And on top of it all, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. But it wouldn’t work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?

God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning, & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that

Man (humbled): OH

GOD: I didn’t let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

Man: (ashamed)

God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick, & I didn’t want you to catch what he has, I knew you couldn’t afford to miss work.

Man (embarrassed): Okay

God: Your phone went dead because the person who was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn’t even let you talk to them so you would be covered.

Man (softly): I see God

God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn’t think you wanted to be in the dark.

Man: I’m sorry God.

God: Don’t be sorry, just learn to trust Me…. in all things , the good & the bad.

Man: I will trust You.

God: And don’t doubt that My plan for your day is always better than your plan.

Man: I won’t God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.

God: You’re welcome child. It was just another day being your God and looking after My Children…

I've had one of those days, have you? Sometimes God delays us to protect us in unexpected ways.

Why does it seem like I do what God wants me to, then He makes me wait? Is this His idea of a joke just to mess with my head?

For example, I've just finished writing a book. He put this book on my heart eons ago, and I kept putting it off. But He just kept poking and poking me until I threw up my hands and said 'Okay! Okay! I'll do it! will You please stop poking me?!?" (and yes, I really did do this!)
So I finished it within a few months. I sent it to be critiqued last month.

Time slowed to a crawl. In fact when I look at the clock, sometimes the hands go backwards. The critiquers have other projects to work on other than mine, and I've learned I'm not the center of everyone else's universe, dagnabbit. I have to wait, wait, wait for the work to be finished properly.

Why is God not hurrying this thing along? He's the one that asked me to do this in the first place...right?

My women's group is reading a book called Your Beautiful Purpose (by Susie Larson), and I came across a section 'Wait on God'.
I read about a family waiting (and waiting) to adopt children; This is not about you. It's not about bringing a child into your family. It's about bringing your family to a child.

Wow.

So if I used this gem for my situation, it would read; This is not about you. It's not about bringing a book to your readers. It's about bringing readers to your book.

The book needs the be refined so readers will see it and snatch it happily from the shelf. If I keep rushing the process, I'll be hindering God's blessings for the work He has given me.

You can't bake a good cake in five minutes and you can't write a book and expect an agent to accept it without being critiqued and edited properly- and that takes time. God not only wants this to be a good book, He wants me to be a better writer. I think I can be patient for that particular blessing!

Maybe you're going through something like this right now. Perhaps you already have! Here's a huge cyber-hug from me for being brave enough to wait for the good stuff!

 Yes, sometimes it's really, really hard to wait, to put up with delays (and re-writes), but in the end, won't it be worth it?