What Nobody Tells You About God’s Timing in Leadership Chaos
I used to believe good leadership meant flawless logistics.
If I just planned hard enough—mapped every stop, coordinated every detail, anticipated every emergency—I could keep everything running smoothly.
Leadership, in my mind, was about staying one step ahead of chaos.
But that idea broke down somewhere between a missed bus, a locked hotel room, and a long list of things I couldn’t control.
A few weeks ago, I was leading a group of 8th grade students on a long-anticipated East Coast trip. You know the kind: walking tours of historical sites, late-night bus rides, the buzz of students discovering the world outside of their hometown. A rite of passage. A logistical masterpiece.
And then, everything went off script.
It all started with a student getting sick.
A parent flying in from the West Coast to pick up their child.
Another student got sick and had to be taken to the ER.
Then phone calls at 2AM, trying to arrange hotel rooms and make sure everyone had somewhere safe to sleep, and there is quarantine for those students who are sick.
I stayed behind with another staff while the rest of the group moved on, working with hotel staff who couldn’t unlock rooms because their system had crashed.
It all came so quickly within 24 hrs of each other.
No one tells you how lonely it feels to watch carefully built plans fall apart in the dark hours of the morning while you're trying to comfort a sick student with nothing but towels, a conference room couch, and a whispered prayer.
I felt like I had failed.
It was the kind of night that chips away at your confidence. Where you question every decision, and every preparation. You wonder if you could have done more. If the group is safe without you. If the parents are questioning your leadership.
And then, something shifted.
I met the parents who flew in from the West Coast, sent off the other family with their parents, a room opened up before breakfast, and I was able to get a flight to meet the group at the next designation.
I ended up visiting two airports I’d never been to before.
I had hours to sit, watch, think. I get to reflect on the trip while visiting airports that I probably won't visit again. I talked to people I wouldn’t have met. I had space—unexpected, unearned, unwanted space.
And in that space, I realized:
God wasn’t late. He just wasn’t on my timeline.
I had planned everything down to the minute. But I had left no room for divine timing. I had made my schedule sovereign.
If you're a Christian school leader—especially one who feels like they’re constantly holding the system together with duct tape and prayer—this might be for you.
Because here’s the truth I needed in that moment:
Chaos doesn’t mean failure. Sometimes, it’s holy ground.
Here is what I mean":
Lesson #1. Interruptions Create Awareness
When you're racing to the next checkpoint, it's easy to miss what's right in front of you. I had a detailed itinerary, but no margin for what God might want to do through the interruptions.
Being stuck in a different city, sitting at an unfamiliar gate, watching people come and go—it made me slow down. I noticed. I listened. I prayed with more desperation and less polish.
When things fall apart, pay attention. There’s often something God wants you to see in the unraveling.
Lesson #2. Delay Doesn’t Equal Defeat
Missing the group flight felt like a failure. Like I had dropped the ball and couldn’t catch up.
But the truth is, the story wasn’t over. I met up with the group less than 16 hours later. The students were fine. The world hadn’t ended.
Delays feel disorienting when we confuse our schedule with God’s will. But He’s not bound by our timetables. Just because it’s delayed doesn’t mean it’s denied.
Lesson #3. God Forms You in the Gaps
While I was coordinating logistics, making judgment calls, and managing miscommunication, I was also being shaped.
Not in a big, dramatic way. But in a quiet, humbling way.
God used that space between what I had planned and what actually happened to refine my leadership. To help me lead without needing to be in control. To teach me to show up faithfully, even when I couldn’t fix everything.
That’s where formation happens—in the gaps.
But David, could this be avoided?
I know what some of you are thinking.
“But shouldn’t I be better at managing all of this?”
Maybe.
But leadership isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about being present.
And if you’re doing your best, showing up, loving students, and making hard calls in the middle of chaos—you’re not failing.
You’re being trained.
God’s refining you through every change of plans, every 4 AM phone call, every rerouted trip, and every unexpected interruption.
So no—the delays, the sickness, the reroutes—they weren’t detours.
They were divine.
And maybe God’s greatest work in you isn’t happening on the mountaintop of success, but in the missed bus, the long line, the hotel hallway, and the quiet moments when no one’s watching.
If you're in the chaos right now, I want to invite you to pause.
Look around.
You might already be standing on holy ground.
✍️ If you’re a Christian educator or school leader navigating real-life leadership chaos, I write stories like this in real-time.
Follow along, or share this with someone who needs to know their mess might just be ministry.