I Heard You The First Time

Daniel 10:12-14

Have you ever spoken to someone and you just felt like somehow there was a communication break-down, and so you repeat yourself. But it feels like either you're being ignored or to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was a very noisy environment, so you say the same thing again, but with a little more umph, and you might even add, I said...

Then suddenly they turn around and they snap out, I heard you the first time.

And you with a little attitude say back. Well why didn't you answer me the first time?

Well those things happen sometimes, and sometimes the delay is because of distractions in the environment, and you truly weren't heard. Then there's another explanation. It could be that the other party was thinking about what you said, and they didn't just want to snap back with just anything, they actually wanted to give you a processed answer, or an answer that they thought through.

Whatever the reason is, whether it is valid or not, that time of waiting for a response is very disturbing, and agitating. And in some cases we could even get so irritated that we say, just forget it, and walk away.

Let's admit it, we are an impatient society. We want it yesterday. We will throw something in the microwave, and stand in front of it tapping our foot, because it’s too slow.

If the drive through at Mcdonald’s takes over five minutes, we want to talk to the manager about how slow they are.

I think God wants us to understand something… impatience can rob of us of the best things in life.

Many bad decisions are made because we didn't see what we wanted, or hear what we wanted to hear quick enough, so we just angrily stomped off in a different direction and ended up causing ourselves a lot of unnecessary grief.

Some people have made big purchases out of impatience and later regretted it.

Some people married out of impatience, and later regretted it.

Time is a great sifter. Time will sift out the half hearted, the insincere, the lazy, and the indifferent.

God uses time to qualify us for his best blessings. Remember our favorite song? They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength...

While we wait our capacity for receiving is enlarged.

While we wait our desire is tested.

While we wait our commitment is tested.

Waiting is a season for things to develop, or mature.

A baby is conceived in a moments time, but there is a season of waiting that follows, and that waiting season is a developing season. You don't want to cut that season short because you could have a premature, or under-developed child if you do.

So there are good and godly reasons for waiting, and many seasons of delay, are actually divine in nature. But there are also times when delay is not divine in nature, but it is in fact demonic. it is Satanic in nature. And it is sent to derail you, to discourage you, and to disappoint you.

The devil will at times use delay to try and get you to fall into fear, and doubt, and unbelief. And many times the weapon of delay has defeated great men and women of God.

So where the devil has failed in a frontal attack, in many cases he has succeeded, by utilizing the weapon of delay.

In Exodus 32:1 When Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, the children of Israel went off the rails. They went crazy. They made a golden calf, and stripped off their clothes and started drinking and dancing and worshiping a golden calf.

When Abram’s promised son was delayed, Abram and Sarah left the God path to the promise, and started acting in flesh, and Abram went into Sarah’s handmaid, and they produced a child of the flesh. This child Ishmael, was born out of their impatience, and was a source of grief to them, and still is today.

But because of God’s mercy, Abraham and Sarah still brought forth the promised son 25 years after the promise.

Abraham and Sarah were delayed for 25 years, but not denied.

Joseph received his dream when he was 15 years old, he was delayed for 15 years, but he was not denied.

God promised the children of Israel, a land flowing with milk and honey, they were delayed for 40 years before they even saw the fruit, but they were not denied.

You may have received a promise, or a prophetic word about something, and it may have been a year or 5 years, or more, and you haven’t seen it manifested yet. And it seems like it’s farther away than ever, and looks more impossible than ever, “but delay is not denial.”