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		<title>You Are Not Too Late</title>
		<link>https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/you-are-not-too-late/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thoughts_About_God]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christian Devotionals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Encouragement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thoughts by Barry Saunders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian Encouragement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God has a plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God's timing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hope in God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[isaiah 43:19]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Beginnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[second chances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[starting over]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trust God's Timing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[You Are Not Too Late]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/?p=910004</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>You may feel behind, but God is not limited by your timeline. A late start, painful detour, or second beginning does not put you beyond His purpose.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/you-are-not-too-late/">You Are Not Too Late</a> appeared first on <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com">Thoughts About God</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="300" height="199" src="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/newthing-300x199.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 10px;" srcset="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/newthing-300x199.jpg 300w, https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/newthing-768x509.jpg 768w, https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/newthing.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></div><blockquote><p><strong><em>&#8220;Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?&#8221;</em> <span style="color: #800000;">Isaiah 43:19</span></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>One of the quietest lies we believe is this:</p>
<p><em>I should be further ahead by now.</em></p>
<p>We rarely say it out loud.</p>
<p>But we feel it when someone else announces the promotion. The engagement. The new home. The growing ministry. The answered prayer. The dream finally becoming real.</p>
<p>Then we look at our own life and wonder whether we missed our moment.</p>
<p><strong>Comparison has a cruel way of turning someone else&#8217;s blessing into evidence against our own future.</strong></p>
<p>But God has never been restricted by the timeline you created for yourself.</p>
<p>Abraham was old when Isaac was born.</p>
<p>Moses was eighty when God called him to stand before Pharaoh.</p>
<p>David was anointed long before he became king.</p>
<p>The disciples watched Jesus die and believed everything had ended. Three days later, God showed them that what looked like the ending was actually the beginning of something they could not yet comprehend.</p>
<p><strong>God is not intimidated by a late start.</strong></p>
<p>Maybe life took a turn you did not expect.</p>
<p>Maybe you lost years to survival.</p>
<p>Maybe your own choices created consequences you are still rebuilding from.</p>
<p>Maybe circumstances beyond your control delayed something you desperately wanted.</p>
<p>Maybe you are starting again while everyone else seems established.</p>
<p>Starting again is not always failure.</p>
<p><strong>Sometimes starting again is grace.</strong></p>
<p>Isaiah 43:19 says, <em>&#8220;Behold, I will do a new thing.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>God does not say, &#8220;I will only work if your life followed the original plan.&#8221;</p>
<p>He says He can do something new.</p>
<p>New means the future does not have to look exactly like the past.</p>
<p>New means a closed chapter is not the whole book.</p>
<p>New means God can create a road where you currently see wilderness.</p>
<p>Stop measuring your life against people whose full story you do not know.</p>
<p>You may be comparing your beginning to someone else&#8217;s middle.</p>
<p>You may even be calling yourself late when God calls you prepared.</p>
<p>The better question is not, <em>&#8220;Why am I not where they are?&#8221;</em></p>
<p>The better question is: <em>&#8220;God, what are You asking me to do from where I am today?&#8221;</em></p>
<p>You do not need to recover every lost year before taking the next faithful step.</p>
<p>You only need to take the next step.</p>
<p>You are not too old. You are not too young. You have not made too many mistakes. You have not missed God&#8217;s ability to use your life.</p>
<p>If God is still writing your story, there are still pages ahead.</p>
<p><strong>Pause and reflect:</strong> Where have you allowed comparison or regret to convince you that God&#8217;s best work in your life must already be behind you?</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:</strong></p>
<p><em>Lord, forgive me for measuring my life against other people and against timelines You never gave me. Help me release regret over what did not happen when I expected. Give me courage to follow You from where I am today. Open my eyes to the new thing You are doing and give me faith for the next step. Amen.</em></p>
<p><strong>Today&#8217;s Thought:</strong> <em>You are not behind when you are walking faithfully with God.</em></p>
<p>by Barry Saunders<br />
used by permission</p>

<p><strong>FURTHER READING</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/phil-ware_jer29-11/" rel="bookmark">The Plans I Have for You</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/john-grant_the-plans/" rel="bookmark">The Plans</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/marilyn-ehle_lost-dreams/" rel="bookmark">Lost Dreams</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/lynn-mosher_journey-choice/" rel="bookmark">Journey of Choice</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/john-grant_dreams/" rel="bookmark">Dreams</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/you-are-not-too-late/">You Are Not Too Late</a> appeared first on <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com">Thoughts About God</a>.</p>
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>When God Seems Silent</title>
		<link>https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/when-god-seems-silent/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thoughts_About_God]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2026 07:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christian Devotionals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faith & Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prayer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thoughts by Barry Saunders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Be Still and Know]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian Encouragement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faith During Difficult Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God Seems Silent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God's presence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God's timing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[psalm 46:10]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trusting god]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unanswered prayer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waiting on god]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/?p=910001</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>When heaven feels quiet, faith can feel hardest. This devotional is for the moments when you cannot see what God is doing but still need to trust that He is near.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/when-god-seems-silent/">When God Seems Silent</a> appeared first on <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com">Thoughts About God</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img decoding="async" width="300" height="199" src="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/god-seems-silent-300x199.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 10px;" srcset="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/god-seems-silent-300x199.jpg 300w, https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/god-seems-silent-768x509.jpg 768w, https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/god-seems-silent.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></div><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><em>&#8220;Be still, and know that I am God.&#8221;</em> <span style="color: #800000;">Psalm 46:10</span></strong></p>
<p>There is a kind of silence that can shake your faith.</p>
<p>You prayed. You waited. You prayed again.</p>
<p>And still, nothing seems to move.</p>
<p>No answer. No open door. No sudden breakthrough. No explanation.</p>
<p>Those are the moments when the questions become louder than the prayer:</p>
<p><em>God, are You listening?</em><br />
<em>Did I miss You?</em><br />
<em>Have You forgotten me?</em></p>
<p>The hardest part of waiting is often not the delay itself. It is wondering what the delay means.</p>
<p><strong>But God&#8217;s silence is not proof of God&#8217;s absence.</strong></p>
<p>A seed beneath the soil looks like nothing from the surface. There is no flower to photograph, no visible growth to celebrate, no evidence that anything is happening. Yet underground, roots are forming before anything ever breaks through the surface.</p>
<p>Some of God&#8217;s deepest work happens where you cannot see it.</p>
<p>Joseph carried a dream from God, but between the dream and the fulfilment came betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and prison. David was anointed king, yet spent years running for his life before he ever sat on the throne. Abraham received a promise, then waited until the promise seemed humanly impossible.</p>
<p>The waiting did not cancel the promise.</p>
<p>The silence did not mean God had walked away.</p>
<p>And the delay was not wasted.</p>
<p>We often want God to explain the whole road before we take the next step. God usually gives enough light for the step in front of us.</p>
<p><strong>Faith is not always having an answer. Sometimes faith is refusing to abandon God while the answer is still hidden.</strong></p>
<p>Psalm 46:10 does not say, &#8220;Figure everything out.&#8221;</p>
<p>It says, <em>&#8220;Be still, and know that I am God.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Be still when fear tells you to panic.</p>
<p>Be still when comparison tells you everyone else is moving ahead.</p>
<p>Be still when disappointment whispers that prayer is pointless.</p>
<p>Be still long enough to remember who God has already proven Himself to be.</p>
<p>Your circumstances may be uncertain, but His character is not.</p>
<p>He is still faithful. He is still present. He is still God.</p>
<p>And if you cannot see His hand today, you can still trust His heart.</p>
<p><strong>Pause and reflect:</strong> What are you interpreting as God&#8217;s absence simply because you have not yet seen His answer?</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:</strong></p>
<p><em>Father, I confess that waiting is hard for me. When I cannot see what You are doing, keep me from believing that You have forgotten me. Quiet the fear, frustration, and doubt in my heart. Help me trust Your character when I cannot understand Your timing. Teach me to be still and know that You are God. Amen.</em></p>
<p><strong>Today&#8217;s Thought:</strong> <em>God&#8217;s silence is not proof of His absence.<br />
</em></p>
<p>by <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/authors/b-saunders/">Barry Saunders</a><br />
used by permission</p>

<p><strong>FURTHER READING</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/a-ritchie_waiting-moth/" rel="bookmark">Waiting on the Moth</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/marilyn-ehle_be-still/" rel="bookmark">Be Still</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/roy-lessin_be-still-and-know/" rel="bookmark">Be Still and Know</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/when-god-seems-silent/">When God Seems Silent</a> appeared first on <a href="https://thoughtsaboutgod.com">Thoughts About God</a>.</p>
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