Overcoming the Giant of Delay

Message Summary:

We hate delays. Flights delayed. Packages delayed. Projects delayed. Doctors delayed. Nothing about delay feels good. But the truth is, the biggest delays aren’t in our schedules—they’re in our obedience to God.

In 1 Samuel 17, Goliath taunted Israel for forty days while the army stood frozen in fear. But David did not delay. He obeyed immediately. He obeyed his father, obeyed the Spirit’s prompting, and obeyed in faith. And his obedience positioned him for victory.

Trust issues are obedience issues. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Psalm 119 declares: “I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.”

David’s example shows us that obedience doesn’t delay. Obedience doesn’t always need a new word from God—it requires faith in the Word we already have. The disciples left everything immediately when Jesus called. The jailer in Acts 16 was immediately baptized. The call of Jesus is never “later,” it’s always “today.”

Delayed obedience isn’t obedience. Delay often disguises itself as devotion. “I’ll forgive later.” “I’ll give later.” “I’ll follow God’s call later.” But every time we delay, we say to God, “Not yet.”

Charles Spurgeon once preached: “When it is a case of life and death, let us fly swift as a flash of lightning.” Acts 22:16 puts it plainly: “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away.”

The giant of delay is defeated when we choose to obey—today.