• Start Here
    • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Blog
    • Prayer
    • Spiritual Disciplines
    • Trusting God
  • Prayer for the Week
  • Store
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Prayer and Possibilities | Prayer - Discipleship - Spiritual Disciplines - Discernment - Trusting God

Prayer & Possibilities

  • Deepen Your Prayers
  • Develop Your Faith
  • Step Into God’s Possibilities
You are here: Home / Trust God / When God Gives You A Yellow Light

November 16, 2016 ·

When God Gives You A Yellow Light

Trust God

Sometimes God answers our prayers with a "not yet''. A "yellow light" is difficult, but could it your opportunity to refocus on what's most important?Rows of neatly-drawn boxes numbered for each day of the month stare back at me as I sit at my desk. Carefully-made plans, tasks, and due-dates color-coded on the calendar. So much optimism and excitement went into its making. Yet, as I look more closely this morning, I notice how many boxes have neither the day nor the task marked off. Weeks of unfinished tasks remind me how much I’ve missed.

It’s not that these weren’t good projects, prayed-over commitments, and important deadlines. It’s not that I’ve just said ‘yes’ to everything that’s come my way and overfilled my plate. I’ve said ‘no’ to plenty. I’ve prayed through each ‘yes’. Still, sometimes life brings changes and God whispers, “Slow down, child. Other things are more important right now.”

Traffic Signals From God

I’ve been leading a course on prayer at church. We’re following a series from prayercourse.org and in it the leader, Pete Greig, explains that sometimes God’s answers to our prayers are like a traffic signal. Some prayers get an immediate “green light” – a “yes” to move forward on something, an obvious answer to the prayer, even a miracle. Other times, we get a “red light” – a “no” to something we’re praying about, whether due to God’s will for our lives or something in this broken, human world in which we live. The third answer, a “yellow light”, represents the “not yet”. Slow down and wait, keep praying, keep waiting for the answer, keep preparing.

I love how this analogy gives perspective to those times it seems God just isn’t answering our prayers (or at least not in the ways we want Him to). Perhaps it’s not so much that He’s not answering, but rather He’s giving us a yellow or red light.

When God Gives You A Yellow Light

My neglected calendar reflects a “yellow light” to my prayers and dreams. A pause to focus on more pressing priorities in my family. It’s the not the answer I wanted, but maybe the answer I needed. I don’t want to slow down. I want to press forward and keep pushing on my dreams. Sometimes, though, life hits and priorities change. When we listen to these “yellow light” answers from God, we shift and look for where we need to put our focus while we wait.

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit … and you’re keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for Balance in your life.

(Brian G. Dyson, President and CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises during his speech at the Georgia Tech 172nd Commencement Address Sept. 6, 1991)

Our family, our health, our faith, and our relationships are the priorities. Those are the things we need to put first. Work, dreams (even God’s dreams), projects, volunteer commitments, etc. are the rubber balls. We can drop them and they’ll bounce back when it’s time. However, the others are glass balls. Dropping these has disastrous implications. These should be given the utmost care.

Moving Forward Under A Yellow Light

Sometimes God answers our prayers with a "not yet''. A "yellow light" is difficult, but could it your opportunity to refocus on what's most important?In car racing, sometimes the caution flag waves. This slows all the cars down to a safer speed while an accident is cleared or a storm passes. A “yellow light” in our prayers doesn’t mean we stop moving forward or give up our dream. It simply means we slow down and drive under the caution flag for a while.

Refocus on your priorities and give them your time and attention.

Rest and care for your physical health.

Dig deeper into God’s Word and listen more carefully for His guidance.

Spend time with family and friends and pour into your relationships.

Most of all, pray. Continue seeking God’s direction and guidance, paying attention to His answers and be ready when he lifts the caution flag and sends you on full speed ahead.

So, I’m shifting and resetting priorities. I’ll replace my neglected calendar with a new one at some point. One with more grace for the days other areas of my life need to take priority. I’m praying over this one and asking for God’s guidance. The caution flag is still flying and I’m moving forward carefully.

Is the caution flag flying in your life? Has God given you a “yellow light”? How will you settle into the wait and refocus?

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.”
(Psalm 143:8-10 NIV)

Other Posts You May Like

Previous Post: « When We Can’t Fix It On Our Own
Next Post: Feeling Weary? Shift Your Focus [VIDEO] »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. betsydecruz says

    November 19, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    This is excellent, Kathryn. I’ve also experienced a bit of “yellow light” ith regard to my writing ministry. Both my family and ministry here overseas are taking lots of time, and they’re good investments of my time. So for now I have a “write as you can” philosophy. I know that later, I’ll have more time to write, but now, God’s calling me to focus on some of the people right in front of me.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hi, I'm Kathryn! I'm glad you're here to journey with me! I'm just an ordinary girl following an extraordinary God, learning to seek God's possible in this world of impossible. Fueled by loads of coffee, I'm passionate about helping and encouraging you along this journey, too! Let's step forward together and learn practical ways to live into God's possible! Read More…

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible


BibleGateway.com

Footer

Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Start Here
  • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · beloved theme by Restored 316

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT