Jim & Sheri Parker could not get pregnant and waited over seven years to have their first child. When their precious girl was born, Halle was diagnosed with Turner syndrome, a chromosomal disorder of having only one X chromosome. It was not what they were expecting. “I’m a good person, I’m leading a bible study, I tithe every week, why God??” In times like these it is natural to question God, cry out to God, and to scream that life is not fair. It’s easy to become bitter, to lose hope, and to question His love for you. But through Halle’s joy & spirit, Jim and Sheri experienced God like never before and never expected.
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, yet I will be joyful in God my Savior.“ — Habakkuk 3:17-18
The people of Judah had grown wicked, violent, and corrupt and Habakkuk couldn’t take it anymore. Surely God would set things right. So Habakkuk pleads with God, asking Him to save Judah through any means from her own wickedness. God answers, but not in the way Habakkuk expected, as He hands them over to the Babylonians to correct their course. In the process, Habakkuk and the Israelites experienced God in ways like never before.
If it’s true that God provides for our needs and He will never leave us or forsake us, what are we to do with seasons where He feels far off, silent, and not providing? Where is God in these times of testing, trial, and when it just doesn’t make sense? Is He absent—or is He up to something we can’t see?
It’s no secret that most of us don’t enjoy these seasons of stretching and growth. But so often God uses the unexpected in our lives to shape and grow us up into mature sons and daughters. The key is our perspective; then making a decision to choose faithfulness despite our eyes seeing something else.
Sometimes God lets us come to the edge to see things we would never see otherwise.
Despite this lack of provision in 3:17-18, I am determined to join Habakkuk and trust God’s process by proclaiming Yet I will;
- Stretch little into enough
- Go deeper into His Word
- Choose to bless others
- Trust Him in this space
- React in joy
How about you? Are you in a season of need? Are you questioning God that your situation is not fair? Make a decision to remain faithful.
Reflection |
Personalize this scripture by writing your own “3:18 Yet I Will” story.