3 Signs God Is Saying, “Yes, But Not Yet”

In this article, I’m going to give you 3 signs that would be good evidence God may be saying, “Yes, but not yet” to you.

1. God May Be Saying “Yes, but Not Yet” if Your Heart Is in Front of the Season You’re in

If you’re younger but you want to be married, that desire may be from the Lord but you will probably need to wait. If you have been through a hurtful relationship but you also desire to be in new relationship, that desire may be from God but you will probably need to go through a season of healing first. If you want to marry a certain person, perhaps God has given you that desire but you two will need to grow as a couple first before taking that next step.

A biblical example of God foreshadowing someone’s future long before it happened can be found in the life of Joseph. In Genesis 37:1-11, Joseph had two dreams that showed him that he would eventually rule over his brothers. However, in the very next section of Scripture in Genesis 37:12-36, Joseph’s brothers overpowered him and sold him into slavery.

This must have been very confusing for Joseph. I’m sure he was tempted to doubt the dreams. However, when you read the details of this story, this part took place when Joseph was only seventeen years old (Genesis 37:2). According to most estimates, it was approximately twenty years until Joseph was promoted to rule over Egypt under Pharaoh. So in effect, God had said to Joseph, “Yes, but not yet.”

Likewise, just as Joseph had to wait for the season that he felt God had called him to, so too must we often wait for the right season.

Sometimes God gives us a glimpse of what we he designed us for in the future as motivation to keep us going through the hard times. Perhaps God gave Joseph those dreams when he was seventeen as way of encouraging him to get through the hard times ahead. We don’t know the future, but it’s certainly possible God has given you a strong desire for something because he wants to motivate you forward through the hard seasons you will have to travel through first.

2. God May Be Saying “Yes, but Not Yet” if You Will Be Used More Effectively Later on

Maybe you are ready for marriage but your future spouse isn’t. Perhaps God is waiting to bring you into their life because they are not ready to recognize you yet. Maybe in the future, this person will have gone through the necessary experiences to realize how much they need you.

Another key part of Joseph’s story is the famine. While Joseph was stuck in prison, yet thriving because God was with him (Genesis 39:23), God gave Pharaoh a dream than no one could interpret. God then allowed Joseph to understand it and he told Pharaoh there would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Thus, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge to prepare for the famine (Genesis 40).

In truth, however, God was the one really behind all of this.  When Joseph’s family came to Egypt because of the famine, Joseph was there to save them. When he finally revealed himself to his brothers, Genesis 45:6-8 explains:

For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

So like Joseph, God has an important purpose for your life. Oftentimes he’s preparing to use us to help others in ways that none of us know about yet. Be faithful through the process even when you don’t understand God’s full plan. In time, you will.

3. God Is Saying, “Yes, but Not Yet” if You’re Holding Onto a Biblical Promise

God hasn’t promised everyone a spouse, health, wealth, or earthly prosperity. However, he has said that if we lose our lives for him, we will gain eternal life (Matthew 16:25). He said if we give up our earthly things, we will receive a hundred times as much (Mark 10:30).

And yet, sometimes it feels like this isn’t true. When we are suffering now, it can feel like the promises of God aren’t true. This is probably how Joseph felt. In Genesis 48:21, Joseph’s father said to him as he was dying, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.” However, this promise wasn’t fulfilled in the lifetime of Joseph. But this didn’t cause Joseph to doubt the promise. When it was time for Joseph to die, he said to his sons, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here” (Genesis 50:25).

Joseph trusted the promise of God that he would bring the Israelites back to the Promised Land even when he didn’t see it right now. Likewise, there are deep promises in Scripture you must never let go of.

As David wrote in Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”