As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn’t help but feel a little envious. “How come you’re not a manager yet? You deserve it,” friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. “If this is God’s plan for me, I’ll just do my job well,” he replied. Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates. Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the “long way around” so that he would be better prepared for his role. 
When God led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17–18), He chose a longer way because the “shortcut” to Canaan was fraught with risk. The longer journey gave the people of Israel more time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for subsequent battles. 

Sometimes what we call delays may be a process that we need to go through so as to be fully mature so as to handle or manage the responsibility that comes along with the blessing. As children of God let us not be quick to get into conclusion about any situation without first seeking the face of God to know His will (Jeremiah 33:3). The shortest way isn’t always the best. Sometimes God lets us take the longer route in life, whether it’s in our career or other endeavors, so that we’ll be better prepared for the journey ahead. When things don’t seem to happen quickly enough, we can trust in God—the One who leads and guides us.

Culled from odb.org12/11/20 (edited)