If you are anything like me, when you receive a prophetic word that you are excited about you are raring to go, like right now! It’s been my experience that more often than not God says to me that yes he has promised a thing, soon, but not yet.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
An unfortunate side effect of being part of a generation where Disney is fixture in many households is that certain turns of phrase will be auto-filled with lyrics, in the case of ‘soon, but not yet’ my brain will often conclude with ‘trust me pet, mother knows best.’
These lyrics come from Mother Gothel (You can listen HERE) who *spoiler alert* is the villain of the story in Disney’s Tangled (a remake of Rapunzel). Each and every one of Mother Gothel’s words are manipulations to keep Rapunzel under her personal control. Her warnings are essentially fearmongering, a way to keep Rapunzel completely reliant on Mother Gothel and terrified of everything, paralysing her, and preventing her from maturing.
I think sometimes when God tells us to wait on a promise we think that he, like Mother Gothel, is a villain. That God is holding back a promise as a way to manipulate us so that he can get what he wants.
Thankfully we have verses like the one above (Isaiah 40:31) that let us know that those thoughts are simply not true. The Bible tells us that when we wait on the Lord we will renew our strength.
While the Mother Gothel’s of the world have you remain immature, Philippians 1:6 promises that God’s intention is for the good work in us to be complete, that he will give us wisdom (James 1:5) and more than that he tells us to go into all the world (Mark 16:15).
Rather than controlling us God gives us instructions that hedge us in safety, but even when we go beyond or outside of his protection he doesn’t abandon us, he walks next to us and waits for us to turn to him.
God’s ‘soon, but not yet’ is more like the promise of Christmas or a birthday coming, both occasions have a perfect time and if we attempt to celebrate them before that time we run the risk of missing out on all of the things that come along with them. You’ll miss out on seeing the guests if you throw the party before the guests are due to arrive along with the gifts that they are bringing to share with you.
Unlike in the case of Mother Gothel, if you jump the gun and do what you want you will be the one that misses out, not God.
Is it time for you to talk to God about the promises you believe he has given you, and why they are yet to happen?
Karla