Even Though, Yet I Will ....

God, the Lord, is my salvation; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. Habakkuk 3:19
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Even Though, Yet I will….
So often the message of scripture is lost on me because I just can’t relate to the analogies. In Habakkuk 3:17-19 the writer lists all the things that bring stress and anxiety to the daily life of a Hebrew.   Personally, I really don’t care if the fig tree blossoms or not because I don’t have one in my yard. I don’t keep sheep, nor do I grow my own grapes or olives. A quick trip to the grocery store solves all my food shortage issues. I understand the gist of the list, but I just don’t relate.

Therefore, because I don’t totally relate to the Hebrew list of anxieties, the impact of the second part of the message is missed. I don’t feel the full impact of the “yet I will” statements because I don’t get the though statements.
Now if the passage read:
Though-
Your house is in foreclosure.
Your marriage has ended.
Your job has been terminated.
Your car won’t start.
You child is in rebellion.
Your health is failing.
Your month is longer than your money.
Your sleep is lacking.
Yet I will-
Rejoice in the Lord.
Take joy in the God of my salvation.

The picture is clearer now.

Challenges. Stresses. Anxieties. We all face them. We have headaches over them. We lose sleep over them. We become consumed by them. Every day the worries we carry in the pit of our stomachs chew us up a little bit more on the inside. We lose weight. We gain weight. We cry. We yell. We snap. We struggle. We want joy and peace, but end up frustrated and scared. The harder we try to keep it all together, the worse it gets.

But, there is a different way. Look at what the author says, though all this bad stuff happens in life, yet I will… Yet I will, what? Rejoice that I have cancer? Gotten divorced? Am in debt? No. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

We don’t have to be glad about our circumstances. We just have to be glad in the Lord and the fact that He gives us strength. He lifts us up. It’s not the absence of anxiety that gives us peace; it is the presence of God.
So, let’s shift our thinking from how hard the struggle is to how strong our Savior is.

​Today, my friends when you are faced with a “though”, respond with a “yet I will.”

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