God’s Delays are not Necessarily His Denials
Dr. Jacquelyn G. Sampson
The silver is mine and the gold is mine; declares the Lord Almighty. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty (Haggai 2:8-9, NIV).
Giving honor to God, Our Father; to Jesus Christ, Our Savior; the Holy Spirit, Our Comforter; I pray this writing transcends from a sincere heart, devoted mind and experienced lifetime to all who read it. I further pray the intention of this writing is to help someone else understand that one person’s stumbling blocks may very well be used as another person’s stepping stones (Matthew 11:28). When one learns to trust God completely, no matter how rough the past has been or how dismal the future may appear, God will, in His own timing, fix the situation. (Proverbs 3:5-6) “I’m a living witness.” ( the late Sister Mary Walker.) 
One day while walking through my house and listening to a Religious television channel, I overheard one of the Ministers say, “God’s Delays are not Necessarily His Denials.” My spirit leaped at this thought and I reacted just like one of my church sons, Elder Michael, reacts when he hears a Word in the message that ignites his spirit. He says out loudly, “That’ll Preach!” So, when I heard this topic, I said, “That’ll blog!”
As I take time now to look back over my own life and think things over, I wonder just why I have gone through and survived certain situations that if I had been given the opportunity, I would have never selected them for myself. As I reflect on this thought, I think about the many times I have heard my Pastor son say, “What you’re going through is not for yourself, it’s for someone else. You have been chosen” (Romans 8:28).
Patience is probably one of the most difficult virtues to master. Normally, as human beings, we want things when we want them and have not yet become as comfortable as we should with the adage, “delay works in our favor.” We observe other people receiving the very thing we have been praying for and wonder, “Why them and not me?” If we are not careful, those monsters: envy, jealousy and strife will creep into our spirits and affect our behavior. I am a testament, however, that delay is not always denial, especially when we are obedient to the Word of God and trust the fact that His Word never changes. If He says He’ll do a thing; He will do it! “For the vision is yet for the appointed time. It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it. For it will certainly come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).
Yes, I can now answer my own question appearing at the beginning of this blog. I am now aware if much earlier in my life, I had positioned myself under the right instruction, studied more the Word of God, practiced what the Word was teaching me, and learned to WAIT on God; many of the hardships and mistakes I fell victim to could have been avoided and the example I set for others could have been easier to demonstrate. Nonetheless, I am grateful to God for choosing me, for covering me, and keeping me from satan’s consumption (I Peter 2:9). He has revealed through me how to be an example to others of what can happen and cannot happen unless we learn to “Wait on God!” We should always pray and go through Jesus Christ to ask God directly for what it is we want. God loves us and will grant us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) if only we are willing to Wait. 
There are three answers from God we must learn to listen for
(1) YES (2) NO and (3) NOT YET! “Delay is not always Denial but God is an on time God, Yes He Is!” Amen.
For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
I Corinthians 4: 4-5
