Remember “Yet”-

“Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.” Luke 7:11-15 (ESV)

I think “Yet” is not used enough in the Christian vocabulary. We proclaim things as being complete that aren’t. We say God hasn’t or doesn’t answer my prayers for healing, financial problems, or reconciliation of relationships, and a thousand other things that we have prayed for. We often have a fatalistic attitude, assuming that if something isn’t done within my time frame, it will never be done. However, that isn’t true for the Christian.

Remember when Jesus’ dear friend, Lazarus, died? His sisters were beside themselves with grief and even confronted Jesus when he came to Lazarath’s grave at Bethany. Mary said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” You see, Mary and Martha were praying for God to heal Lazarus, so he would not die, and in a backhanded way were accusing Jesus, “You didn’t answer our prayers!” But Jesus said, ‘I haven’t answered your prayers, YET!’ Remember, what Jesus did was a miracle far more impactful than healing a sick man; Jesus resurrected a man who had been dead for four days. Stop for a second, and re-read that, Jesus resurrected a man who had been dead for FOUR days. Now that’s a miracle, and it was all for the glory of God. When God doesn’t answer our prayers immediately, He always has a better solution for us, but we must remember, “He hasn’t answered our prayers, YET.”

How about at the temple where Jesus went to the Pool of Bethesda, where a man who was sick for 38 years. This man had been there every day for 38 years, praying to the God of Israel for healing. If he were like me, I’m sure that after 38 years, he would have said, “God, why haven’t you healed me?” And God’s answer would have been, “I haven’t healed you, YET”. When God answers a prayer in our lives, it's more than to help us; it's so He can receive glory and honor. We need to start realizing that there is more to this world than our little part in it. You see that very day, when the time was right for God to receive great honor and glory, Jesus stepped into this man’s situation and healed him. But it took God 38 years for the time to be right for Jesus to glorify God as God had ordained.

Also, remember the widow whose only son had died, and the funeral procession was on the way to his burial site? I’m sure she had spent many days and nights praying for God’s healing so her son would not die, but God’s answer to her prayer for a miracle was, “I haven’t answered your prayers for your son, YET”. When the time was right, Jesus said to the widow, “Do not weep.”, and commanded, “Young man, I say to you arise!” Again, her prayer for healing was indeed going to be answered, she needed faith to wait for the "YET".

The Bible is full of examples of God fulfilling His promises to His people. As you read these stories of prayers for deliverance, just about without exception, you could add “YET” to the end of each of their prayers. You see, our God has proven that He is “The Promise Keeper”, but the problem we as humans have is that we want Him to fulfill His promises now! However, he says “not yet” so many times.

Believer, the next time you are broken-hearted, and you can’t see your way out of a particular heartache, remember “YET”. God hasn’t answered your prayers YET! He hasn’t shown you that new job, YET! He hasn’t brought that wayward child back to live out their faith, YET! Start remembering that God will fulfill every one of His promises to His children when the time is right! Not right according to our timing, but at the right time according to His timing.

So, when your heart is heavy, and you are exhausted from praying for days, weeks, years, or even multiple decades, remember “YET”! God hasn’t answered your prayers, YET, but have faith in The Promise Keeper, He will answer your prayers, but in His way and in His time, and for His glory and honor.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"