I Refuse To Be Delayed!

Delay according to word net is defined as inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time.  Many, at the assurance of success still find themselves waiting for the manifestation; some wait overtime while some wait till they leave this world and the reason for this “wait” cannot be fathomed. Most times, the reasons you haven’t received that breakthrough may not be because God is withholding it and it may not be the fault of whoever is delivering it, but because some spiritual forces are at work. Daniel 10:12-14, 12Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. 14Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

Daniel’s answered prayers were withheld for 21 days by the SPIRIT prince (another version of the Bible says, “By the King”) of Persia. The angel that was sent in response to Daniel’s prayers said Daniel’s prayers were answered, that was success there, but it was delayed, the desired result, that is, the angel of God that was sent to reveal what will happen in future to the people of Jerusalem was delayed.  Daniel was in a state of holiness, purity and clear route to Heaven, hence, the Spirit Prince of Persia couldn’t delay him for long because heaven had taken up his case.

Failure or success, fulfillment or setback, are not decided by wealth, skills, power or whatever you have achieved, they are dependent on your connection with God, your relationship with God. Daniel may have had his prayers answered on the first day, but if he had disconnected from heaven, from God and had chosen to entangle himself with the affairs of this world, he would have been delayed for as long as he stayed disconnected and he would have kept on waiting to hear from God or receive answers from God. This is what a lot of people are undergoing today, because we see God as an ATM machine, when we need Him, we seek Him and the moment we are assured of our victory we are nowhere near God. Success isn’t complete until it’s manifested and when it’s manifested, it isn’t complete until it reaches its maximum state. Just because God has spoken to you one way or the other about a situation doesn’t mean you should go back and entangle yourself with the affairs of this world, let me reiterate, pursue those promises with all diligence and guard them like you would your very eyes. One thing I have realized is that every success comes in stages, and for each stage, you meet different oppositions. For example, you want to get into college, they need you to get your transcript evaluated, when they get it evaluated, the school will access your grades and choose whether or not to take you, when they do, you have to ensure good grades to get the benefits at school, when you do, you have to maintain it to graduate, when you are done with that, you have to look for a job, when you get a job, you have to work hard to be promoted and so on…… Each stage of success has its requirements and every man on earth has an angel assigned to him and how well those angels will work on your behalf (active) depends strictly on you, how well you stay focused and connected to God. Daniel 10:20, He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. 21Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince. The angel revealed that Michael is Daniel’s angel who assists in fighting for Daniel against the spirituals forces. He also mentioned in verse 20 that, after fighting against the spirit of Persia, he would fight the spirit of Greece. Because this truth has been hidden from most people, a lot find themselves in a disappointing situation; they win here and lose there because they relax in their spiritual warfare after what seems like an assuring response from God. If the devil, our adversary prowls around looking for someone to devour, you don’t want to be a prey. (1 Peter 5:8), stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

The spirit of the King of Persia (Daniel 10:13) comes in different forms, it is regarded as our enemy and could be operating in different forms, either through your next door neighbor, your best friend, that church member who doesn’t like you and doesn’t want you anywhere in church because the devil knows your place of blessings, your boss, members of your family, your colleagues at school, work, etc. It is very easy to identify the enemy and its works. Anyone or anything that presents itself to you and causes you to engage in these acts is your enemy; Galatians 5:19-21, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  All these are destiny destroyers; they bring about delays and most times if not corrected, brings about denial of your success. The only language your enemy understands is force. When the desire to sin comes in the midst of your walk with God, (trust me, the desire will come), you can win by vehemently rebuking the devil and he will flee.  Anytime you make a conscious effort to draw closer to God, the enemy makes a stronger attempt to stop you, if he succeeds, he has you under his custody, but if he doesn’t, he has no hold on you, John 14:30. Forces of darkness operate victoriously in an unholy environment, unclean persons and one who is disconnected from heaven, they cannot prevail against you as long as you are in good terms with God and living a blameless life before Him (holy). I remember vividly when I was struggling to walk this walk, each time success was around the corner, the enemy comes with a huge offer and I’d take the offer at the detriment of my success, but, one day, God saw that I had been robbed enough and because He had a greater plan for me, He revealed this truth to me, the day I realized this truth, I purposed in my heart never to compromise my standards for anyone or anything. You can say I was delayed here and there but the moment I received this truth, I forcefully declined any subsequent offers from the devil and this time, the enemy came back with greater offers that anyone wouldn’t resist, but thank the Lord for Jesus Christ who gave me victory, victory over sin, victory over delays and disappointments. That is why the bible instructs us to bring our body under subjection, it’s not an easy walk, but you can do ALL things by the power of God, through Jesus Christ.  (Hebrews 12:1&2) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Verse 1 says, we have to strip (remove, strip, deprive) ourselves of that weight (jealousy, greed, anger, backbiting, sexual immorality, immorality, drunkenness, etc) that slows us down (delay) and easily trips us (makes us fall, stumble, go weak spiritually). Are you ashamed that you are not doing what your peer would rather have you do? Look up to Jesus! Are you ashamed that your friends laugh at the fact that you’ve chosen to follow Jesus? Remember His suffering and how He focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, instead of giving in to sin, He chose the crown. If you accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, and strive to stay on that road fixing your eyes on Jesus alone, however difficult, then and only then can you shield yourself against the forces of darkness that seek to delay and destroy your destiny.         YOUR FEAR FOR SIN & ITS CONSEQUENCES SHOULD BE MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU THAN THE FEAR OF YOUR ENEMIES.

It is my prayer that every destiny destroyer sent to bring us down and cause delays in our lives will be condemned today in Jesus name. Amen!