It’s that time of year – the season when FedEx, UPS, and the postal service are running at full speed, working double shifts to get everyone their Amazon orders and packages from all over the world.
People are anxious. We’re all saying the same thing we say every year: “Next year, I’ll be more prepared.” And yet somehow, we blink – and it’s just weeks before Christmas and we haven’t started, or we’re barely halfway done.
Stress kicks in. We gamble on shipping times. We track packages like hawks. We worry if things will arrive on time, if we remembered everyone, if we chose the right thing. Then the deliveries start showing up.
Some are delayed. Some arrive right on time. Some surprise us in good ways. And some… not so much.
You finally open a package you’ve been waiting for – only to realize it’s not what you expected. Maybe the item you ordered was out of stock, and a replacement was sent instead. You didn’t approve it. You didn’t choose it. You just got handed something close enough and told to deal with it.
And immediately you think:
I didn’t order that.
Isn’t that a lot like life?
So often, we find ourselves opening seasons we never asked for. Circumstances we didn’t approve. Outcomes that feel like substitutions for what we were hoping, praying, or believing for.
We ordered peace – yet received chaos.
We ordered clarity – yet received confusion.
We ordered healing – yet received waiting.
And just like those unexpected packages, we’re faced with a choice:
Do we accept the substitute simply because it showed up?
Or do we pause and ask whether this is really what we’re meant to receive?
This season reminds me that not everything that arrives at our door is meant to be kept.
Sometimes God allows delays – not to punish us, but to protect us from settling. Sometimes what looks like a replacement isn’t His provision at all, but a test of our patience, trust, and discernment.
Because faith isn’t about grabbing whatever arrives first – it’s about trusting God with the delivery time, the method, and the outcome.
Maybe as this year slowly comes to an end and we begin thinking ahead to next year, instead of rushing to accept what’s handed to us, we slow down and ask:
Is this really what I ordered?
Is this what God promised?
Or am I tempted to settle because waiting feels too hard?
Sometimes the greatest act of faith is returning what isn’t ours to keep and trusting that God’s timing is better than overnight shipping. Sometimes that person, situation, or opportunity is not part of His perfect plan for us – and we have to swallow our pride, take a risk, and trust that what God has for us is actually better. Just because something shows up in our lives doesn’t mean we’re required to keep it.
Not everything that arrives belongs in our hands or in our hearts. Discernment matters – especially as we wait on the Lord and seek His direction. As we push through the rush toward Christmas, may we remember that God never sends substitutes for His promises. His timing is always perfect, and what He has planned may take longer than we want – but it will always be worth the wait.
And sometimes, faith looks like saying,
“I didn’t order that.”
