Why Your Delay is Actually a Divine Set Up

The Secret of Caesarea: Why Your Greatest Setback is God’s Biggest Setup

By Ashley Key

Host, The 700 Club

Hey, everyone! I am standing right here in Caesarea by the sea, surrounded by these breathtaking ancient ruins in Israel. Being here always makes history come alive, so I want to start by throwing a quick trivia question your way:

Who do you think wrote most of the New Testament?

Go ahead and think about it. If you’re like most people, the very first name that popped into your head was probably the Apostle Paul.

But believe it or not, that’s actually wrong!

While it’s true that Paul wrote the most individual books, it was actually Luke who wrote the most pages of the New Testament.

The Two-Year Interruption I bring that up because of where I am standing. The Apostle Paul was actually imprisoned right here in this coastal fortress for over two years. Put yourself in his shoes for a moment: Paul was a man on a fierce, godly mission. He had cities to reach, churches to plant, and people to see. Yet, right in the middle of his momentum, everything ground to a screeching halt. He was locked away, sidelined, and forced to wait.

But look at how God orchestrates history. If it wasn’t for Paul’s two-year imprisonment in Caesarea, his close companion Luke would never have had the time or the proximity to come to this region, research the eyewitness accounts, and write the entire Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.

When we look back at the grand tapestry of history, we realize that if it wasn't for Paul’s two-and-a-half-year delay, we wouldn’t have a massive, prolific portion of our Bibles today. What looked like a devastating halt to Paul's ministry was actually the exact window of time God needed to birth the Gospels.

Don't Despise the Delay

There is a powerful lesson in these ruins for you and me today: Don't despise the delays in your life.

I’m sure Paul wrestled with his circumstances. He knew he was doing God's work, so sitting in a prison cell must have felt like an infuriating waste of time. He had to reconcile his personal frustration with the ultimate truth found in Scripture: Man plans his ways, but the Lord ultimately establishes his steps. Paul had to pray, surrender, and ultimately trust that God knew better—that there was a divine, sovereign purpose behind this agonizing pause.

If you find yourself in a season of delay right now—or what appears to be a major setback—I want to give you fresh hope and encouragement today.

God has a bigger plan.

Oftentimes, when we feel completely stalled, He is actually doing something behind the scenes that is so much bigger and so much better than anything we could have engineered on our own.
Keep your head up, continue to trust His timing, and I promise you—even in the waiting room of life—you will find His joy.