Alicia Alliance Church

KEEP MOVING WITH HOLY PURPOSE | PART 4

Theme: Trusting God’s Perfect Timing

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

By Rev. Ricardo H. Obida

At Alicia Alliance Church, our heart is to see Empowered Believers. Transformed Communities. As we walk the Disciple-Making Journey—from Discover, to Mature, to Journey—messages like this help us follow Christ as our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King, moving with holy purpose from the Cross to the Commission.

🪝 HOOK: The Waiting Room of Life

Have you ever sat in a doctor’s waiting room with an appointment time clearly printed on your card, only to watch that time come and go? You check the clock. You glance at your phone. Others who arrived after you are called in, while you remain seated. The background music plays, pages turn in old magazines, and you silently wonder, “Did they forget about me?”

Life can feel like that waiting room. Some of us are waiting for healing, for a breakthrough in our finances, for a prodigal child to come home, for a relationship to be restored, or for clarity about God’s call. We know God has given us promises, yet the door hasn’t opened. The appointment feels overdue.

Have you ever looked at your life and quietly asked, “Lord, did You forget my name on the list?” If so, you’re not alone—and you are not forgotten. You may be in what feels like a divine waiting room, but Ecclesiastes reminds us that there truly is a time for every purpose under heaven.

😔 PAIN: When Delays Feel Like Denials

Waiting on God can be one of the hardest parts of the Christian life. We don’t just wrestle with the calendar; we wrestle with our hearts. Frustration rises when prayers seem unanswered. Confusion whispers, “Did I hear God correctly?” Comparison adds pressure when we see others moving forward—getting the promotion, the healing, the open doors—while we remain in place. The fear creeps in: “Maybe my dream is dead. Maybe my time has passed.”

Yet the psalmist gives voice to our waiting: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1). God does not dismiss our tears or ignore our questions. He leans in. He hears. Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that “those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles…” Waiting on God is not a passive, hopeless sitting; it is an active, trusting posture where God is quietly strengthening us.

Still, the tension is real. Habakkuk 2:3 speaks directly into our impatience: “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” In other words, what feels late to us is right on time in God’s calendar. Our pain in the delay matters to Him, but His purpose is not cancelled by the waiting. He is writing a story that is bigger than the moment we’re in right now.

✝️ SOLUTION: Every Season Has a Sacred Purpose

Ecclesiastes 3:1 anchors us in a powerful truth: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Seasons imply change, rhythm, and intention. Winter is not a mistake; it prepares the ground for spring. In the same way, your current season—whether it feels fruitful or barren—is not random. Under heaven, even delay can be woven into God’s divine design for your life.

Think of the potter’s wheel. A skilled potter never rushes the clay. There are moments when the clay spins rapidly, moments when the potter’s hands press firmly, moments when the shape seems to collapse, and seasons when the vessel must sit in the intense heat of the kiln. If you pull a pot out too early, it will crack under pressure. Isaiah 64:8 declares, “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.” Your delay may actually be God’s gentle, purposeful shaping—forming you into someone who can carry the weight of the calling He has prepared.

Romans 8:28 assures us that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” That includes the things we would never choose: the pauses, the closed doors, the detours. Jeremiah 29:11 echoes God’s heart: “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God’s plans are not rushed, but they are sure. James 1:4 invites us to cooperate with His timing: “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Patience in the delay is not weakness—it is participation in God’s maturing process.

Joseph’s story in Genesis 45:5–8 is a testimony of delay turned into divine design. Years of slavery, false accusation, and prison could have looked like wasted time. Yet Joseph later tells his brothers that God sent him ahead to preserve life. What seemed like painful postponement was actually precise positioning. When we remember that Jesus—our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King—walked a path of obedience that included long, quiet years before public ministry, we see that delay is often the training ground for holy impact.

What God Does In the Delay:

• He prepares your character for your calling – God cares more about who you are becoming than what you are doing. In the waiting, He shapes humility, dependence, and Christlike love so that when doors open, you can walk through them with integrity.
• He aligns your timing with His greater purpose – You are part of a bigger story. God is coordinating people, places, and opportunities. What feels slow to you may be His perfect alignment with others He is preparing.
• He protects you from premature exposure – Sometimes God closes doors because they would crush you, not grow you. In His mercy, He shields you from platforms, relationships, or responsibilities that your current maturity cannot yet sustain.
• He positions you for a greater harvest – Just as a farmer waits for the right season to reap, God positions you where your life can bear the most fruit—for your good, for the Church’s maturity, and for the transformation of your community.

In the Disciple-Making Journey of Alicia Alliance Church—Discover, Mature, Journey—seasons of delay are often where we mature the most deeply. As we surrender our timelines to Christ and trust His hand on the potter’s wheel, He equips us to move outward on mission with greater compassion, resilience, and faith.

📣 CALL TO ACTION: Trust the Season You’re In

Friend, you may feel stuck in the waiting room of life, but in Christ you are not forgotten—you are being formed. God’s timing is not meant to torment you; it is meant to prepare you. As a church family committed to making disciples who are Empowered to Serve—where faith becomes action, we invite you to trust that every step, every season, and every delay can be used by God to shape you for His purposes.

Here are some practical steps you can take this week:

• Name the delay you’re facing and surrender it to God in prayer. Be honest. Tell Him where it hurts, where you feel forgotten, and where you are afraid. Then place it back into His hands as the Master Potter.
• Find one scripture about God’s timing to meditate on this week. It could be Ecclesiastes 3:1, Psalm 40:1, Isaiah 40:31, or Habakkuk 2:3. Write it down, memorize it, and let it recalibrate your heart.
• Take one small step of obedience—even in the waiting. Waiting is not inactivity. Ask the Holy Spirit how you can serve, grow, or encourage someone today while you wait. This is how we move from Discover to Mature, and then to Journey, together.
• Share this post with someone who needs encouragement in their delay. You can be part of God’s comfort in someone else’s waiting room. #EmpoweredBelievers #TransformedCommunities #ProclaimChrist

Let’s pray together:

Lord Jesus, our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King, thank You that Your timing is perfect, even when we do not understand it. Give us grace to trust Your heart in every season, strength to endure the waiting without losing hope, and faith to keep moving in obedience even when the path is unclear. Use every delay to shape our character, deepen our love for You, and prepare us for the good works You have planned. Lead us from the Cross to the Commission with holy purpose. Amen.

“Every Step. Every Season. Every Purpose. God Is Leading The Way.”