The Power of Yet
Not too long ago, I was able to put together a personal development session for the people I work with. We focused on the growth mindset and the power of yet. A few weeks later, my oldest daughter came home with this paper. They had evidently done this motivating activity at school too. If you think about it, yet is truly a powerful word. In the English language it is a preposition, which means something usually follows. The word points us to something next. You can take that word and apply it to a negative phrase and it instantly changes the attitude or feel of the statement. In the corporate world it goes like this:
I haven’t met my goals.
When you add the word yet, everything changes.
I haven’t met my goals, yet!
It’s simple, but it’s a game changer. I find myself really trying to instill this concept into my kids. We are surrounded by negative self-talk. The younger generation is drowning in it. This is something simple I can teach them.
But what if we take this a step further and dig into the power of yet from a Biblical perspective? I had the chance to speak about this at a women’s retreat a few weeks ago, and God showed me so much! I want you to first think about a yet statement in your own life. What are you waiting on? Some examples:
A family member hasn’t accepted Christ… yet.
I don’t have a husband… yet.
I’m not a mother… yet.
Go ahead. Make one for yourself.
Yet is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 2:4-5. How fitting that this preposition first appears in the creation story and points us to the future. Here is what it says:
“These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground.”
The first thing this scripture points out is that there are no shrubs and no plants. It tells what the world doesn’t have, but it also tells us why it wasn’t there. There were no plants because God hadn’t made what it needed to survive… yet. These plants needed water and someone to cultivate it. Maybe God hasn’t created the things that your “yet statement” needs to not only survive, but to thrive. When I think about some of the “yet statements” in my own life, here is what I have come to realize:
I have prayed “Please Lord give me a husband”. But what if the man he had picked for me wasn’t ready yet? (Side note: God picked a good one for me :)
I have prayed “Please Lord give me a job.” But what if the job he had picked for me wasn’t created yet?
I have prayed “Please Lord give me a child.” But what if the mother He knew I could be wasn’t ready yet?
I think sometimes we look at the creation story in Genesis and forget that the creation story never ends for us. God is our Creator and He loves being creative.
The plants and shrubs in Genesis needed someone to cultivate it in order to survive. Who is helping you cultivate your yet? Who are you allowing to speak into it? Who are you following? Are you allowing negativity? This matters. We don’t have the power to change a lot of things that happen to us, but we do have the power to choose who speaks life and truth to us.
We see in the very next verses that God creates man from dust. He chose the simplest particle to make the most complex organism. In some cases, He does the same for us. He can use the small things to produce the big things. The lesson is to use the small things He gives you now as you actively anticipate the yet.
There is a secret to living in the a season of not yet. It’s called contentment and gratitude. I joke all the time that I am living in my bus driver era. But the truth is, my time with all 3 kiddos in the car on the way to school will not last. We like to rush through life trying to get to the next best season. But if we live like that, we will miss the good things. If we’re not careful, we can miss the gifts that God has entrusted us with today looking for the yet in our life.
Being content is a skill that you learn. It’s not something that comes naturally. It’s something you choose to do and choose to be. Each day we are given is precious. And listen… contentment is not a choice to dismiss your desires or silence your future aspirations. Contentment is choosing to put them in their rightful, humble place. You enjoy life now with hopeful anticipation of what’s to come.
I want to give you a picture of what anticipation and hope in the not yet looks like. There is a longing in our hearts. It’s not there for us agonize over things of this world. It’s there to point us to eternity. The yet I am sure of is the promise of heaven for believers.
Meditate on one of my favorite verses from Revelation.
“Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look Gods dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more, grief crying and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3
