God Delays You For Good

On The Path Of Winners

BY BAYO OGUNMUPE

God Delays You For Good

THIS generation has been dubbed the microwave generation for good reason. Because we charge through life like we are on fire. But Jehovah has His own timetable and it cannot be rushed. So when He puts you on hold watch your tongue. Like a small rudder on a big ship, what you say determines your direction and helps stop wrong thoughts from infiltrating your mind. The mind is a garden, thoughts are the seeds, your harvests are either flowers or seeds. So ask God to help you control your emotions.

  Apostle Paul said: “Be glad for all. God is planning, be patient in trouble and prayerful always.” Complaining magnifies problems, prayer turns negative energy into a powerful force for good. Solomon said: “He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast,” Proverbs 15:15. Laughter dispels tension, lightens the burden and fills your soul with joy.

  Appreciate the chance to learn. The Chinese view problems as prospects, in their culture the symbol for problems and opportunities is the same. Solomon said, “The diligent make use of everything,” Proverbs 12:27. Learn from your experience regardless of how hard it is, and remember, some of the world’s greatest discoveries and breakthroughs resulted from crises.

  Love unconditionally, problems are caused by people; under pressure it is tempting to lash out. The bottom line is that we all make mistakes and nobody is beyond redemption. Learn to see people through God’s eyes. Overcome evil with good. Be courteous and maintain your dignity when you are under pressure. Make peace your priority. When you go to war everybody suffers. Look for a breakthrough from an unexpected source. Don’t be surprised when the people and circumstances He sends into your life aren’t what you expected. He spoke to Balaam through a donkey and used Burning Bush to get Moses’ attention. Don’t be in such a hurry.

  Ever notice that the faster you go the more behind you get? Jesus said, “By your patience possess your souls.” God’s timing is the best. God is more interested in a relationship with you than He is in what you can do for Him. “Don’t be too proud to ask for help, with humility comes wisdom,” Proverbs 11:2. If helpers you turn to aren’t immediately available, be patient, don’t give up. God designed us to work together and somewhere up the road, you will be called to help somebody by sharing what you have. God moves alongside us when we go through hard times. And before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else so that we can be there for that person, 2 Cor. 1:4.

  We all want the crown of life God promised, but we don’t want the problems and trials that develop the strength of character in us. But you cannot be great without character! Here are what you learn in tough times. One, enjoyment, count it all joy when you fall into trials, James 1:2. It is when you pass God’s test that He fills you with His joy. So pull your groans out of your prayers and throw in a few hallelujahs. Pain is inevitable misery is optional. Two, enlargement; most of the things we know best, we learned the hard way. Our greatest progress comes from our greatest pain, hence God doesn’t save us from it, but strengthens us in it. Three, enlightenment, we don’t realise how little we know until we walk through life’s dark places, and Jehovah turns on the light. Four, endurance, apostle James laments: “See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its crops and how patient he is for the seasons’ rains.” You too must be patient and stand firm. You can’t shorten the seasons or hurry the harvest, so be patient. And pay attention while you are waiting for God is working for you. Tests of faith are trials and hardships that invite you to surrender something of personal value to Allah, even when you have every right not to.

  Our champion for today is Everett Mckinley Dirksen, the United States politician and the leader of the Senate Republicans during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Born in Pekin, Illinois in January 1896, Dirksen died in Washington in 1969. He left the University of Minnesota before graduation to serve in World War I, becoming a businessman after the war. With his election as Pekin city finance commissioner in 1926, Dirksen began a lifelong career in public service.

  Elected into congress in 1932, a conservative Republican Dirksen voted against most New Deal measures, except Social Security. A severe eye ailment forced him to resign his House seat in 1948, returning to Illinois to practise law, having gained admittance to the bar while in Congress.

  Dirksen’s health now fully restored, he ran successfully for senator in 1950. As an old guard Republican, he supported Robert Taft for president in 1952 and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade until the crusade was discredited. Elected senate minority leader in 1959, Dirksen supported liberal legislation of the 1960s – The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, The 1964 Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act of 1965. From the Senate and through television Dirksen became a folk hero for his imposing oratory, attributes for which he was dubbed “the wizard of ooze.” He served in the senate till his demise in 1969. He was the greatest forensic orator of his day.