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Chapel at Lake Braies, South Tyrol, Italy. Photo by Charles F. Stanley.
Daily Devotion

When God Says “Not Yet”

Waiting for God’s “yes” grows our patience and anchors our trust in Him.

Genesis 16:1-12

God answers prayer in one of three ways: “yes,” “no,” or “not yet.” This last reply is possibly the most dreaded—and for good reason. Waiting requires us to trust God’s plan when we can’t yet see it. However, patience is an important trait for the Christian, as Scripture repeatedly teaches us in stories, proverbs, psalms, and epistles.

Waiting on God to unlock a door is always wiser than attempting to open it ourselves. After God promised him descendants (Gen. 12:2), Abraham waited 25 years with an answer of “not yet.” That is a long time to hold on to a promise!

Abraham and Sarah were human, and eventually they came up with their own plan to get an heir. Sarah’s servant Hagar bore Ishmael. It’s easy to understand the impulse; the waiting must have felt unbearable. But the consequences were painful. Bitterness and blame touched every member of the family (Gen. 16:4-6; Gen. 21:9-10). When the divine “yes” finally came through Isaac, it arrived in God’s timing and on His terms—as it always does.

Our patience isn’t to give God more time—He doesn’t need it. But waiting deepens our trust and prepares us for what He has on the other side of that door (Isa. 40:31). His timing is always worth trusting in, especially when the waiting is hard.

Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 26-28