The “Yet”s of God…
I’ve been thinking about the word “yet” this morning
(yes, I know I’m a word-nerd…I can’t help it!). 🙂
Officially, the word “yet” has a few different uses/definitions (please click HERE),
but for the sake of this post I want to focus on the following meaning of the word:
“Sentence connector–nevertheless, still, in spite of that”–
“Yet” usually connects something negative with something positive, something painful with something comforting;
“Yet” often brings together in one thought or sentence both the dark clouds and the silver lining–
“Yet” can be a POWERFUL word of hope and encouragement!
- “I have many lemons right now, yet I am learning to make lemonade!”
. - “My right hand is broken, yet I am beginning to write with my left hand!”
. - “Life is bringing me to my knees, yet from here I can more clearly see God’s footprints with me!”
The word “yet” appears in the Bible approximately 395x (please click HERE),
and for the rest of this post I want to show just a few of the ways that God uses this word “yet”
to encourage us,
to give us endurance and hope,
to contrast the seeming hopelessness of our situations
with the true hopefulness of His love, His power, His faithfulness, and His willingness
to show that we can trust Him always, no matter what we are going through.
In the next three passages below, soak in the pain and suffering of the words before the “yet,”
and then soak in God’s hope and promises through the words after the “yet.”
Lamentations 3:19-26 NLT:
“The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!’
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.”
Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV:
“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,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.”
Check this next passage out–even when we suffer greatly from our own poor decisions,
God is strong, loving, and willing to rescue us, free us, defend us, and give us rest
if we will turn back to Him!
Jeremiah 50:33-34 NIV:
“This is what the Lord Almighty says:
‘The people of Israel are oppressed,
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.
34 Yet their Redeemer is strong;
the Lord Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
so that he may bring rest to their land…'”
Now, in the next two passages, look at Jesus’ suffering before the “yet”
and His amazing responses to His suffering after the “yet”:
John 16:32 NIV:
“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home.
You [my closest friends on earth] will leave me [Jesus] all alone.
Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”
Luke 22:42 NIV:
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me
[torture & death on the cross to offer all humans forgiveness for our sins];
yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Now look at this next passage–Jesus understands how difficult it can be at times for us to believe in Him even though our physical eyes have not seen Him (yet!); He calls us BLESSED–He encourages us!–for our humble faith in Him!
John 20:29 NIV:
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and
yet have believed.”
In this next passage Jesus shows the importance of us truly following Him–putting His words into practice in our daily lives. He says that when we do we can survive the worst storms of life!
Matthew 7:24-29 NIV:
“’Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice
is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 The rain came down,
the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice
is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain came down,
the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell with a great crash.’
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching…”
Finally, in this last passage, look at the amazing gift Jesus offers to ANYONE who will believe in Him (even if at first we didn’t believe and turned away from Him)–adoption into God’s family as His very own children! YES!!!
Perhaps the best “Yet” of all!!! 🙂
John 1:11-13 NIV:
“He [Jesus] came to that which was his own,
but his own did not receive him.
12 Yet to all who did receive him,
to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God—
13 children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband’s will,
but born of God.”
This post might have been too long or too boring,
YET I pray it blesses you to see how much Jesus loves you… 🙂
.
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