Living in the Not Yet

Do you ever get so excited about what God has for you next that you forget to live in the moment?

Because I really struggle with that.

I’m not great at living in the “here and now” and the “not yet.”
I get so excited about where I think God is taking me that I want to skip the middle.
I want to skip the process.
Honestly, I want the promise without the path.

It’s funny, people often look at my life and say, “Wow, you move fast.”
But the truth is, God often doesn’t reveal things to me too soon…
because He knows I tend to sprint ahead of Him if He does.

But recently, He’s been giving me glimpses of the future earlier than usual.
Which probably means:
He’s teaching me something new.

I’ve found myself living in the space between “what God is doing right now” and “what He hasn’t fully revealed yet,” learning what it actually means to trust His timing one day at a time.

As I was reading in Numbers, one verse stuck out to me:

“At Adonai’s order, the people of Isra’el traveled;
at Adonai’s order, they camped;
and as long as the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, they stayed in camp.”
—Numbers 9:23 (CJB)

I read that verse and felt it in my chest.

Because this — this daily looking, daily listening, daily obeying —
is exactly what God has been trying to teach me.

Think about their life.

Every morning the Israelites woke up and looked toward the tabernacle.
If the cloud lifted, they moved.
If the cloud stayed, they stayed.

No timeline.
No countdown.
No strategy meeting.
No five-year plan.

Just God.

Imagine setting up camp and wondering, Do I unpack everything or leave it half folded? Are we staying here for a day? A month? A year?

That level of uncertainty would make me crazy.
Which is probably why God has brought me into a season where I feel like I am living with a level of uncertainty…
and is teaching me how to trust.

God was teaching the Israelites dependency — not in theory, but in everyday life.
A real-time, daily, relational obedience.

And honestly?
Many of us have never had to live like that.

We have schedules and strategies we depend on.
We crave clarity and stability.
We want answers ahead of time.

We call it wisdom…
but a lot of the time, it’s just self-reliance that looks responsible.

God has been showing me that obedience is actually the whole point.

We always think the outcome matters most.
But God keeps whispering, “Obedience. Obedience. Obedience.”

Because relationship comes before results.
Presence comes before the promise.
Surrender comes before success.

If the business works or doesn’t…
If I end up where I thought God was leading or somewhere entirely different…
If the dream happens or stays unfinished…

None of that matters more than being with Him.

We tend to think about life as where we go and what we do, but that’s not how the Hebrews thought of life.

In Hebrew the idea of life — chayim — means so much more.

In the Hebrew language, “life” isn’t singular.
It’s always plural: חַיִּים (chayim)
Because life isn’t one-dimensional.
It’s everything woven together:

physical
emotional
spiritual
relational
generational
covenantal

Life wasn’t meant to be compartmentalized — it’s meant to be connected to God at every level.

And when you look at the root, the letters tell a story:

ח (Chet)
A doorway, covering, enclosure — being held inside God’s care.

י (Yod)
A hand — God’s hand, His work, His nearness, His sustaining presence.

Put together, chayim whispers:
“Life comes from being enclosed within the protective presence and hand of God.”

In other words:
Real life is found inside covenant.

It’s found in learning to be dependent on God.

When you live from that place, something shifts.

You stop striving for outcomes.
You stop reacting to every challenge.
You stop living from fear or pressure or performance.

You start responding to His presence instead of your circumstances.

And honestly…
that’s what I want more than anything.

To wake up each day and look toward Him.
To ask, “God, what does obedience look like today?”
Not for next month.
Not for the next season.
Just today.

I don’t have this all figured out.
Some days I obey willingly.
Some days I drag my feet.
Some days I slip back into old habits of control.

But He keeps inviting me back.
Every morning, a new mercy.
Every day, a new chance to follow the cloud.

So this is your invitation too:

Wake up tomorrow and look toward Him.
Ask, “God, what do You have for me today?”
“Where is the cloud today?”
“What does obedience look like right now?”

Regardless of the results

Regardless of our plans

What matters is just being obedient today.

That’s enough.