Not Yet

Not yet.  We have heard it said about prayer that sometimes God answers “yes”, sometimes He answers “no”, and sometimes He answers “not yet”.  What we must always be sure of is that God is righteous in His judgments and does what is good for us and His kingdom.  The example in our reading today is regarding God brining the Israelites into the Promised Land.  Remember, it was occupied by other people and they would not willingly just give up their land.  Could God just have annihilated the occupants of this land in one fail swoop?  Absolutely!  However, He did not and He specifically says why.  We read, “I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you” (Exodus 23:29).  People occupying the land, by nature have to hunt for survival and food, but also have to kill wild animals for the protection of themselves.  The presence in the land was needful for a while and it would be detrimental to the Israelites if God would have taken them out at once.  In addition, we further read, “I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land” (v.30).  We don’t always know why God tells us “not yet”.  Maybe it is because we are not ready or strong enough.  But we do know it is always for our good and His glory!