Mission Moment #6

Today my friend @itsocarleyjo shares her story of how God called her into missions and living in a season of waiting! Carley is a person who loves people and who lives passionately for Christ! I hope you enjoy her story "Living in the not yet."

Living in the “not yet”

Throughout our life, there are 2 words that we have become accustomed to hearing. Yes and No. Yes, you can go to your friend’s house. No, you can’t have dessert before supper. It is pretty simple to understand when someone answers “yes” or “no”. It is very clear what our actions should be. When told the word “yes”, it gives us permission or approval. On the other hand, the word “no” is used to express denial or refusal. Everyone loves to hear the word, yes but not everyone loves to be told no. When someone is told that they can’t do something, it usually results in them conjuring up enough determination to prove them wrong.

Have you ever asked God to do something or a specific question and he gives you a clear yes or no? Do you have something that you have been dreaming about but you do not see it coming to fruition? What if I told you that God doesn’t just reply with yes or no but sometimes He says “not yet”. That doesn’t make sense. Why would God put a desire in your heart just to tell you “not yet”? The not yet moments for me are the hardest because they don’t come with clear instructions. What I am supposed to do until then? Wait? But God…

Have you ever lived in the “not yet”? Well I have, I’ve lived in those moments of having a desire that is planted so deep within my heart that it’s the only thing I think about. When I pray about it, I know it’s right. In those moments, there are so many emotions. You feel giddy, scared, excited, confused and most of all you feel a little crazy. Crazy because it seems impossible. It is a strange feeling.

When I was eight years old, I went on my first mission trip to Mexico. Even though I was so young that the trip had such a great impact on my life. I remember lying in bed praying that God would open the door for me to be able to be on the mission field again. I prayed and cried out to God every night. It was my biggest desire in life. When I would pray, I would feel peace and I knew that one day I would have the chance. My prayers continued day after day until those days turned to months and months turned to years. I felt my prayers slipping away because I allowed the enemy to come in and convince me that it would never happen. “It hasn’t happened yet”. I didn’t doubt God could make it happen but I started doubting if it was what God wanted for me or what I wanted to do.

“Not yet” are two words that dreamers hate to hear. You are so excited about the future that you are just longing for more. My dream of pursuing missions has just now, in the last few years, become a reality. In the seasons of not yet, I have learned that God isn’t saying “no” but he just simply asking us to trust. Trust his timing, trust his plan, and trust his answers. Earlier I asked, have you ever “lived” in the not yet. To live means to endure, to be content, or to abide. It is so easy to get so entangled with the future that you forget to live for today. God tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Choose to live every single day; no matter the season.

I can’t help but see this play out in David’s story to becoming king. There were many times that God told David “not yet”. As a young boy, he was anointed and appointed to be king. Did that mean that he was given an heir to the kingdom the next day? No way, Jose!! God had to take him on a journey to his greater calling. God prepared and protected David by calling him into hard seasons. Did David stop “living” just because God said “not yet” to his greater calling? Nope! David continued to shepherd the flock that was already entrusted to him. In Matthew 25:23, we are told to be faithful over a few things and that God will make us a ruler of many. Then David had to face Goliath and flee for his life. What a dark season for David but he had to walk through some really hard times and some really difficult faith stuff before the promise of being King was ever in possible reach. Then after all of that, David becomes king!

I seem to always find myself back at this place in life. It is familiar but every time you come back it’s a little different. Perhaps, God is preparing you for a greater calling. When we were 5 years old, our parents didn’t grant us permission to drive a car by ourselves because we weren’t mature enough to operate such a heavy responsibility. What makes God any different? Just because we are talking about our calling and our dreams doesn’t mean that we should be unrealistic. God is our Father and he knows us before we were even thought of. He sees the whole picture of our lives and how each season is going to better equip us.