What Happens If He Doesn’t? – Taking Stock of the New Year

In our house, we often laugh at the phrase “What happens if…?” We hear it from our little girl who has grown into the inquisitive and thoughtful stage of life. She is very analytical, and wants to know the why and how of everything we tell her. Usually her quizzing is phrased as “What happens if it doesn’t?”

“What’s that truck?”

“It’s a propane truck. He brings us the propane that we use to heat our house.”

“What happens if he doesn’t?”

We laugh because it’s such a predictable response and puts us in a predicament. She keeps asking until we trace it back the the root, which usually ends up to be something about God.

“Because He loves us.”

“What happens if he doesn’t?”

How do you answer a question like that? I’ll come back to this.

Part of the new-year procedure at MMS Aviation is inventory count. We count all our hardware, sheet metal, tubing, o-rings… There are a lot of parts to count. I am counting screws in this time-lapse video:

Counting Inventory from Brad Hoblit on Vimeo.

I not a habitual new year-resolver, but I do tend toward introspection during this season. As I review 2016, I am amazed at the way God moved in our life. I am not stretching to say that 2016 was monumental for the Hoblit family. He has worked tremendous changes in our situation, maturity, and disposition. He has provided for our needs in ways I can not describe except as miraculous. He has pressed and molded and tempered us to be more perfectly in His image. Crystal and I are really excited about the changes we see, because it means we are growing into a form that God can use for His glory. That is our deepest desire, and we know it is God’s too.

There are plans in the making for 2017. I lay in bed last night thinking about the year and its unknowns, knowing that God intends to further the pressing and molding and tempering. I began to feel a sense of trepidation. I started to work over the possibilities in my mind. The more I rolled, the scarier they became, and the harder I rolled. Then the light began to dawn: I was worrying.

On one hand, I was recounting God’s faithfulness and taking inventory of the year ahead, and on the other I was convincing myself he couldn’t possibly do it again this year. In ancient times, the children of Israel committed this same sin against God (yes, it is a sin), and were turned away from the promised land. They used all God had done as evidence against Him. They rejected His promises, choosing instead to trust their own intuition. Just like me.

God must look at me the way I chuckle at my daughter. He says “I love you. I will take care of you. You’ve seen what I’ve done. I will continue to do the same.”

“What happens if you don’t?”

Starting now, I intend to turn my eyes into the promised land. One of my frequent prayers during 2016 was that God would open my eyes to see His hand at work in my life. He is answering that prayer. Now I also ask Him to help me convert that insight into faith for the future.

Are you a worrier? Our risk-averse culture cultivates worrying in us. Will you put a stake in the ground with me? Let’s make a stand together that 2017 is the year we turn our eyes to the promised land.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” -Corrie Ten Boom