Advent 2022 – Day 26
Thursday, December 22nd
The Power of “Yet”
By Katie Tipton / Season of life: Stay-at-Home Wife &
Homeschooling Mom of 2
Scripture
He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. … Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
~ Lamentations 3:5,21-24
When I was asked to share about joy, I couldn’t help but laugh. This year has been anything but joyful for my family and me. This year has been the most painful of my 38 years, YET the Lord has been faithful and shown me that
joy is more than an emotion.
In June of 2020 we met with a fertility doctor to discuss having our 3rd child. Knoxx, my oldest, is an IVF baby and, after years of trying on our own, we knew we needed help to grow our family. Fast forward to August of 2021, we had our first round of IVF and embryo transfer. It failed.
The next few months were filled with canceled procedures, failed surgeries, and complete heartbreak. I was broken like I had never been before. I was joyless. But, the Lord kept putting people, songs, and sermons in my life that all mentioned Lamentations 3. When I read verse 5, “He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship,” I was like “Yup that’s me.” … BUT, then verse 21, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
I never knew so much peace, hope, and joy could come from such a small
word – “yet.” Over the next few months, the Holy Spirit kept laying on my heart the word “yet.” In April, we had our last embryo transfer. It failed. After lots of tears, prayers, and conversations with our doctors, it was decided that the likelihood of me carrying another child is slim. During those hard weeks that followed, I was able to keep my joy because I knew, despite the heartbreak, the Lord was still good.
In June of 2022, my brother and nieces were in a horrific helicopter crash while traveling in Hawaii. Again, the Lord brought me to my knees in the hours and days that followed. But I remembered Lamentations 3 and clung to the word “yet.” Yet his mercies and compassions never fail.
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord, please show me that, no matter what comes – how hopeless or how joyless the situation may seem – YET You are still good.
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Reflections
How does God’s “YET” apply to your life in this season?
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In thinking back over your life, can you think of something that seemed hopeless; and YET, you now see how the Lord worked? If so, describe it.
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Lord God, may I “repeat the sounding joy” of who You are today!