Mark Sorensen I’m not sure if you made it last Sunday when our special guests, Jay and Katherine Wolf, shared their story. If you missed it, I encourage you to watch it. If you were there, then you know the power of their story and how thick the presence of the Holy Spirit was felt in that Harvest space.
As Jay and Katherine were leaving, Jay pulled me aside and said, “Hey, I want to give you something.” He then reached into a bag and handed me a small candle labeled “Sweet Fig.” He shared with me that these are candles they make and occasionally give out. When I asked about the story behind it, he then smiled and handed me a small card with a Bible verse on it: Habakkuk 3:17-18. For those who may not have Habakkuk memorized, I’ll help you. ☺️ The verse reads, “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, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” On the other side of the card, I saw Katherine’s words written almost a year after her stroke. She took Habakkuk 3:17-18, and re-wrote it using her own words. She wrote, “Though I cannot walk and I am confined to a wheelchair, though half of my face is paralyzed and I cannot even smile, though I am extremely impaired and I cannot take care of my own baby boy, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
There’s something powerful in the three-letter word “yet.”
Amidst the difficulties we face – in the thick of the trials, tribulations and storms of our life – that little word “yet” reminds us that God’s goodness has not changed. He is still on the throne, still at work in the world and still calls us to lives poured through the filter of Ephesians 4:1 where Paul says, “live lives worthy of the calling which you have received.”
So, friends, I pray you are surrounded with the fragrance of sweet figs amidst whatever your life may bring to you, today.
This Sunday, I’m excited to bring the next message in our Terrible, Thanks for Asking series based on Genesis 16:13. Let’s revisit a powerful moment in Genesis where an Egyptian handmaid to Sarai, named Hagar, finds herself in the desert and in fear of her life. She not only meets God amidst her fear, but she gives God a powerful new name which reminds her (and all of us) that we have worth.
