Sorry I’m late.  This is what happened.

How many times have you been in that situation and said that.  Usually it is less than effective and less than satisfying to explain why we are late.  This is especially true when we are dealing with someone who is always on time and impatient with those who are not.

“What do you mean, you weren’t prepared for the cause of that delay?”

On the other hand, we know stories of people who missed a plane or an appointment or ran late, and later found that disaster was averted amid the frustration.

We praise punctuality and dependability, and we shun tardiness and interruptions.  And so we avoid and miss the greatest lessons learned from waiting, and even from failure.

Consider this true story for perspective on reasons for being late:

Daniel was praying for three weeks—praying seriously—so seriously that he was not eating—praying without answer for three weeks.  Then an angel from God showed up and explained the three week delay, in the unseen, very real, supernatural world of warfare in the spiritual realm.  The devil’s evil angel in charge of Persia tried to block God’s messenger sent to answer Daniel’s prayer.  The evil angel succeeded in delaying the messenger from God three weeks, but lost the battle when another chief angel from God, named Michael, showed up to help.

If you have never heard this story, it is true, in the Bible, in Daniel chapter 10.  Now that you have heard this, it will always be in your mind as one explanation when you ask “Why?”

—When evil seems to be winning, remember God is in the fight.

—When evil seems to be winning, remember God wins the battle because He already won the war.

—When evil seems to be winning, remember we can’t see everything from here.

—When evil seems to be winning, remember we can count on winning.

—When evil seems to be winning, remember we can gain courage and encouragement from the Bible.

—When evil seems to be winning, remember God’s angels are bigger than the devil’s angels.

—When evil seems to be winning, remember—keep praying.

Note:  Writing here on the internet, you most likely read the articles in reverse of chronological order.  So you may not notice this is the first addition in over a week.  So when I heard David Jeremiah speaking on the above story this morning, I related to the delay.

Sometimes delays, and obstacles, and even silence, are unexplainable.  Then we must count on reasons beyond our view.  For example, I wrote this short, personal note to a friend last week:  “Time—sometimes it heals, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

More, much more, coming soon, like the following:

WHAT IF YOUR SUCCESS . . . ?    WHAT IF YOUR FAILURE . . . ?