Ancient Practices | Part 3: Sacred Delay
Sacred Delay is the time between hearing God speak something and seeing it come to pass. It is waiting with purpose instead of doubt. It is believing God is working even when we can’t see it. It is patience in action.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”– James 1:2-4 NKJV
I’ve never been accused of being patient. Lauren would testify to this louder than anyone. I really struggle with waiting on something. I have a tendency to “white knuckle” the words God gives me. What do I mean? I believe He says things, but then I have a tendency to live in fear until what He said comes true!
Waiting is meant to produce peace, not angst.
“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
I have come to know that, left to my own devices, my chosen pace will kill me. I consider myself relatively mature; but in this season, I’ve come to the cold, hard truth that my preferred pace is not in sync with God’s desired pacing for my life.
I don’t mean to get “ahead of my skis” or in front of God, but that is my tendency. We all desire to hear God’s voice; but if we are not ok with waiting on Him to move, then hearing His voice will only create tension in our lives. I think that’s the point.
Patience is what produces spiritual maturity.
This is what the ancient practice is really about. In the early church, they viewed patience as the supreme virtue of all virtues. It was the foundation to all the other virtues.
God is eternally minded; we can't comprehend eternity. Unlike any other practice, Sacred Delay does two very important things. It matures our patience, and it matures our trust in God.
It would be good to ask the simple question: Where do I not trust God?
Notice, I did not frame it as, “Do I trust God?” Because based on years of being a pastor, and more importantly being a human, I can guarantee that you have areas that you don’t. How can I say that? Because there are areas that I don’t.
This is really the power of waiting and why I believe God is all about it. Waiting builds our trust in Him. When God speaks, we are left with two simple choices. Either we wait on Him to do what only He can do, or we try to play God ourselves and make it happen. Then there are those precious moments that come along every so often that we have a situation that only He can do, because we are so stuck and have gotten in such a predicament that we can’t get out of without divine intervention.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”” – John 11:5-7 NKJV
Jesus would intervene and raise Lazarus from the dead. A mighty victory would be won and the miracle of all miracles would happen. But in between Lazarus' death and his resurrection, Martha and Mary waited. In this case, they didn’t trust or wait patiently. If we read the story, it was hard for them both. However, this was just part of preparing them for another death and another resurrection that would be much more important. The next time they were patient. The next time they trusted.
At its core, Sacred Delay is the trust that God, and He alone, controls time, that His timing is perfect, and that I can rest in that truth. It’s not wasted time; it’s God-ordained space where trust is built, character is formed, and faith matures.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”– James 1:2-4 NKJV
I’ve never been accused of being patient. Lauren would testify to this louder than anyone. I really struggle with waiting on something. I have a tendency to “white knuckle” the words God gives me. What do I mean? I believe He says things, but then I have a tendency to live in fear until what He said comes true!
Waiting is meant to produce peace, not angst.
“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
I have come to know that, left to my own devices, my chosen pace will kill me. I consider myself relatively mature; but in this season, I’ve come to the cold, hard truth that my preferred pace is not in sync with God’s desired pacing for my life.
I don’t mean to get “ahead of my skis” or in front of God, but that is my tendency. We all desire to hear God’s voice; but if we are not ok with waiting on Him to move, then hearing His voice will only create tension in our lives. I think that’s the point.
Patience is what produces spiritual maturity.
This is what the ancient practice is really about. In the early church, they viewed patience as the supreme virtue of all virtues. It was the foundation to all the other virtues.
God is eternally minded; we can't comprehend eternity. Unlike any other practice, Sacred Delay does two very important things. It matures our patience, and it matures our trust in God.
It would be good to ask the simple question: Where do I not trust God?
Notice, I did not frame it as, “Do I trust God?” Because based on years of being a pastor, and more importantly being a human, I can guarantee that you have areas that you don’t. How can I say that? Because there are areas that I don’t.
This is really the power of waiting and why I believe God is all about it. Waiting builds our trust in Him. When God speaks, we are left with two simple choices. Either we wait on Him to do what only He can do, or we try to play God ourselves and make it happen. Then there are those precious moments that come along every so often that we have a situation that only He can do, because we are so stuck and have gotten in such a predicament that we can’t get out of without divine intervention.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”” – John 11:5-7 NKJV
Jesus would intervene and raise Lazarus from the dead. A mighty victory would be won and the miracle of all miracles would happen. But in between Lazarus' death and his resurrection, Martha and Mary waited. In this case, they didn’t trust or wait patiently. If we read the story, it was hard for them both. However, this was just part of preparing them for another death and another resurrection that would be much more important. The next time they were patient. The next time they trusted.
At its core, Sacred Delay is the trust that God, and He alone, controls time, that His timing is perfect, and that I can rest in that truth. It’s not wasted time; it’s God-ordained space where trust is built, character is formed, and faith matures.
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