Sometimes God Delays Your Dream by Design

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES God's Dream For Your Life

Sometimes God Delays Your Dream by Design By Rick Warren — May 2, 2015 “Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him?” (Deuteronomy 8:2 TLB) Dreams are never fulfilled immediately. There’s always a waiting period. Abraham had the dream of being the father of a great nation, and he waited 90 years before he was even told he was going to have a son. Noah had the dream of building an ark, but it took him 120 years. The Israelites were brought out of Egypt and then wandered around for 40 years before they went into the Promised Land, yet it’s only about a two-week walk between Egypt and Israel. Just like the Israelites, sometimes we are delayed by design. God uses delays to prepare us. Every dream has difficulties. God uses delays to get us ready for those difficulties. God knew that if the Israelites went to war unprepared, they wouldn’t be able to handle it, so he knew he needed that time to prepare them for what was ahead. God also uses delays to test us. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:2, “Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him?” (TLB) So when your dream is delayed, how should you respond? Don’t fear! This is the first mistake the Israelites made. Deuteronomy 1:28 says, “Why should we go there? We are afraid. The men we sent tell us that the people there are stronger and taller than we are” (GNT). The Israelites had enough faith to move out of Egypt, but they didn’t have enough faith to move into the Promised Land. They were afraid. The problem with fear is that it keeps you in the wilderness. It prolongs the delay. Many of your dreams have never been fulfilled, not because of God but because of you, because you wouldn’t step out in faith. The antidote to fear is to focus on God’s presence. Realize that God is with you. When you’re afraid to go after the dream God has given you, you need to focus on God’s presence. He says, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10a TLB). He’s with you now, he always has been, and he always will be. Some of you are in the delay phase right now. You’ve been praying about something, and it hasn’t happened yet. You may start to think that God has forgotten you. God has not forgotten you! It is a delay by design. God knows what you’re going through. He wants to build your character, and he wants you to learn to trust in him. You can count on him for his help. Don’t fear. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick. Talk It Over How has God’s testing of your faith produced spiritual growth in your life? What are your fears about where God may be leading you or what he may be asking you to do? How can you show God that you trust him for today and the future?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ5lxGS2jHg Bring Out the Best TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...love is kind...” (1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria One translation of today’s verse says, “Love looks for a way to be constructive.” In other words, love looks for ways to improve someone else’s life. Love brings out the best in other people. Don’t just get up in the morning thinking about yourself or how you can make your own life better. Think about how you can make someone else’s life better. Ask yourself, “Who can I encourage today?” “Who can I build up?” Someone in your life needs your encouragement. Someone in your life needs to know that you believe in them. I believe God will hold us responsible for the people He’s put in our lives. He’s counting on us to bring out the best in our family and friends. Are you improving the lives of those around you? Are you giving them confidence? Ask the Lord to give you creative ways to invest in those around you. As you sow seeds of encouragement and bring out the best in others, God will send people along your path that will build you up, too and help you move forward into the blessing He has in store for you! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for loving me. Thank You for believing in me and always building me up. I ask that You show me creative ways to encourage and build up the people around me. Help me to be an example of Your love today and always in Jesus’ name. Amen.