It is fitting to close out the Year In Review with a Fear Not Friday. This category started at the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic on March 20, 2020 to counter fear of the known and unknown. There have been 64 entries and it looks like this category will continue strong into the New Year.
Fear is a paralyzer and spreads quicker than any virus. Only perfect love removes fear. Fear quietens itself when it is in the presence of a greater safe relationship. God is the relationship which will provide you with perfect love.
This was one of the most viewed blogs of 2021 for the Fear Not Friday category. It embodies the reality of the fear of the known and unknown, but also honors that God is something greater. May God draw you close to His side to address your worries in the New Year.
Fear Not Friday – THOUGH and YET -Originally March 19, 2021
Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; Habakkuk 3:17-19a NIV
In Florida, last night we joined my brother with his family and 3 grandkids along with our parents for an outside dining experience at Linda’s Crab Shack in Plant City FL. During our meal we experienced what we remembered growing up as a Florida summer rain storm. The clouds grow dark, the winds pick up, a little lightning and thunder and then it is over in 30 minutes.
Lightning had flashed in the distance. I subconsciously counted my 1000’s to get a rough estimate of how close the flash was until the thunder began to roll. As we were all sitting in metal chairs around our tables, we were trying to finish our meal before the storm descended upon us.
Flash and boom! That was close! The lady dining next to us, dropped her fork and exclaimed, “that’s it, I’m done!”. She immediately got up and went inside for her check. Her fear level reached its peak, she moved.
Habakkuk rehearsed the greatest fears of an agrarian based life…no promise of food in the future. Fruit and cattle were not only his vocation, they were the very basis of his existence. He expressed his dilemma in a THOUGH – YET combination. After his “thoughs”, God became his “yet”. God became his strength.
Here is the principle to grab for the day. All THOUGH’S < God’s YET’S. No matter how big the stack of THOUGH’S are that you may have, they are LESS THAN the promises and character of God’s YET.
What could some of your “thoughs” be or have already experienced?
- THOUGH I have lost my job
- THOUGH my spouse has left me
- THOUGH I know I can no longer pay my bills
- THOUGH sickness has come and remained over my life
- THOUGH I experience more dead ends than open doors
- THOUGH I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death with my loved ones
- THOUGH I remain single when I have a depth of love to offer
- THOUGH I am in constant loneliness
Resolve to maintain your “YET”. Habakkuk’s YET moved him beyond the circumstance to one greater than his problem – his God. His eyes were directed away from the horizontal issues upward to God, who has a different perspective. He was no longer transfixed by the problem, but he became open to receive the needed strength to continue his life with God’s help.
YET’s are spoken by faith and not feelings. Habakkuk felt hopeless. How do I know this? He told us what he had been thinking and feeling. No produce, no oil and no meat. He still spoke his YET. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord. Your ears need to hear what faith is speaking to your heart.
Speak your YET, while the THOUGH is still present.
On this Fear Not Friday, let your YET be YET and your THOUGH be THOUGH!
- Let your hopelessness move to the God of hope.
- Let your despair move to your Father who cares.
- Tell your feelings the direction to find strength from the one who guides your next step.
- Let your THOUGH of “what if’s”, be swallowed up in the victory of Jesus over death and sin.
THOUGH there be a flash and a boom, YET find the peace of God in your storm.
Blessings Love y’all