My heart racing and I am thinking about we are about to miss our connecting flight to Israel. We had just landed in Istanbul, Turkey and our flight was extremely delayed. I was thinking our connecting flight is about to leave us. We get off the plane and immediately I felt our flight was gone. We got off the plane and went to the terminal where our connecting flight would be leaving. It was confirmed that the plane had already left. I was really shocked that this was happening and I was thinking we were supposed to be in Israel in 2 hours. It was over 30 of us on our group flight we were all sad because we really wanted to get to Israel.
I remember as I was waiting for our amazing travel leader to coordinate to get our group another flight. I heard the Lord say to me “delay does not mean denial.” I knew at that moment it was a setup. Even though I was sad about the situation I choose to hold on to what the Lord spoke at that moment. We ended up having the option to stay at the airport until the flight left or we could go to a hotel for a couple of hours free of charge until the new flight would depart. I ended up staying at the airport and received 2 free food vouchers. Now the food was not good but I was grateful for God allowing me to eat. We quickly realized that Istanbul airport was one of the largest and most nice airports in the world. It was breathtaking and luxurious. We ended up resting after eating and shopping until it was time for our new flight to depart.
I learned many things from this delay that occurred before getting to Israel. The first thing I learned was that certain things can be delayed in life but it does not mean that it is denial. God wants us to enter the promises that He has for our lives. I realized that it matters who you allow to lead you. Our travel leader was a woman of God, and she was calm and handled the process smoothly with the delay that we experienced. Although we had many questions for her, she answered everything so patiently and with kindness. We had people in our group that already arrived in Israel interceding for our safety and for us to land in Israel. It is amazing when you have people praying for you even if you have not met them yet.
Many times we can look at the problem and not focus on the problem solver which is the Lord. He wants us to always keep our eyes fixated on Him. He works everything for our good. Romans 8:28 (TPT), “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” This situation that occurred was a prime example of this scripture being evident in my life.
I ended up building relationships with group members at the airport while waiting on a new flight, I ended up getting rest after a long flight, eating 2 free meals, and laughing a lot. I would say that God had a plan from beginning to end. We ended up arriving in Israel 8 hours later than the original time. If you feel you are delayed on things in life and do not understand why I would encourage you to focus on what God is doing and saying to you right now. He is always speaking. Maybe if you do not hear anything specific the answer is Psalm 46:10 (TPT), “Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God. I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth.” God is in control and He wants you to know that “delay is not denial.”
You are LOVED,
Jesus Girl