Oh—you’ve never heard of yabbits? Not to worry. If I change the spelling and offer a few examples, you’ll instantly understand. Yabbits are the “Yeah, but . . .” statements that create havoc in our minds, much like rabbits create havoc in a backyard garden.
For example:
- YEAH, I know worry doesn’t help . . . BUT I can’t seem to shut it off.
- YEAH, I know the Bible teaches that God is good . . . BUT what about all the evil in the world?
- YEAH, I know I’m supposed to forgive . . . BUT this hurts!
- YEAH, I know Romans 8:28 about all things working together for good . . . BUT I’m not seeing it in this situation, and it’s been going on a long time.
- YEAH, I know some Christians seem to live in a bubble of joy . . . BUT I’m not feeling it!
These yabbits have names: Distrust, Disbelief, Disappointment, Discouragement, and Discontentment. They’re almost as challenging to keep out of our minds as rabbits are from our gardens.
Of course, the first line of defense against rabbits is a strong, deeply-implanted fence. For yabbits, that fence is scripture—promises and truths deeply implanted in our spirits, that can stand guard when those pesky Yeah-but statements come to devour our faith. Scriptures such as these:
For those times when DISTRUST wants to nibble at your faith, turn to Psalm 9:9-10.
Keep out the yabbits of DISBELIEF with Mark 9:24. [1]
When DISAPPOINTMENT tries to invade our thoughts, we need to remember such affirmations from God as Isaiah 55:8-9.
The yabbits of DISCOURAGEMENT can be turned away with 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
And last, DISCONTENTMENT can be kept at bay when we adopt Habakkuk’s attitude.
We’d also do well to follow Rev. Charles F. Deems’ (1820-1893) recommendation, as we take on these yabbits:
Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts.
Most people believe their doubts and doubt their beliefs.”
Of course, the scriptures mentioned above are just a few examples out of many. More scripture planks will create an even stronger fence.
Someone may ask, “How can we know our trust in scripture is well-placed?”
Whole books have been written about the reliability of scripture, but here’s a short, worthwhile article to introduce the topic: “Three Reasons Why the Bible Can Be Trusted.”
We can also bolster our faith with the testimonies of others who’ve embraced the power of scripture:
- “Every year I live—in fact nearly every day—I seem to see more clearly how all the peace, happiness, and power of the Christian life hinges on one thing. That one thing is taking God at His word, believing He really means exactly what He says, and accepting the very words that reveal His goodness and grace.”—Frances Ridley Havergal, English poet and hymnwriter [2]
- “Take all of this Book that you can by reason and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. It is the best Book which God has given to man.”—Abraham Lincoln [3]
- “In the Bible I find a confidence mightier than the utmost evil.”—Helen Keller [4]
- “The Bible is the book of my life. It’s the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to die by.”—N. T. Wright, Biblical scholar and Anglican bishop [5]
- “The Bible creates endurance. Its promises lift the heart and its panoramic insights strengthen the will.”—Pastor and author Timothy Keller with his wife Kathy [6]
Of course, the occasional reading of a scripture passage won’t suffice. That would be like trying to build a fence with slices of Swiss cheese–too flimsy and full of holes.
No, it’s Bible study and meditation that creates a sturdy fence.
Sound boring? Hardly.
The Bible is worth all the other books
which have ever been printed.
–Patrick Henry
With faith, diligence, and a prayerful heart, every student of the Bible finds that Henry and countless others have been right. In fact, I’ve never met an earnest seeker of scripture-truth who later regretted the time they’d spent absorbing God’s Word.
And when we follow their example, the yabbits prove much less troublesome.
What Bible verse helps keep the yabbits out of your garden of faith? Please share in the comment section below!
Notes:
[1] The father speaking these words was admitting that doubts tainted his trust, yet Jesus still performed the miracle. We don’t have to be perfect pillars of faith for him to intervene for us!
[2] Quoted in Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman and edited by Jim Reimann, 127.
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=owners_manual
[5] https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/25-quotes-from-influential-christians-about-the-bible.html
[6] The Songs of Jesus, 310.
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From the Inside Out 
“He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
Nancy, thank you for partnering wit with truth— a winsome and winning combination! I am encouraged!!
Oh, I love that verse! I remember when it grabbed my attention decades ago. I posted it on the refrigerator for awhile. So encouraging to know HE is working within me, guiding me along to become the person he’s designed me to be! Thank you for sharing, Laurie!
“Yabbits.” I love it. The verse from Habakkuk is one of my favorites, as well as this verse posted at my desk: “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” Psalm 52:8 ESV
Yes indeed! We CAN be like olive trees, with their far-reaching roots, great fruitfulness, and long life. Such wonderful imagery! Our roots can go deep into God’s love, the Spirit can produce great character-fruit within us as we rely on him, and because of Jesus, we will one day enjoy eternal pleasure with God! Thank you, Robert, for sharing that verse with us.
I love that one, thank you! I’ve not thought of it for a long time but once set it to music. So now I’m humming . . .
There so many powerful verses that we can use for different yabbits. One of my favorites is Psalm 91 when I am worried about safety. I try to remember to go over this chapter each day.
Oh, yes, Bridget–such comfort in the affirmations of Psalm 91! That’s a wonderful choice for daily meditation!
Love the concept of “yabbits”, Nancy – how creative on your part, that’s for sure. Yes, we can let those yabbits reign in our lives, or we can turn to God’s Word where peace, comfort and security rule, bringing us back to the core of who we are: God’s children. Honestly, without Scripture in my daily life, I wouldn’t have the confidence and joy that I experience each and every day. I don’t know how people who don’t believe in God put one foot in front of the other or face life’s challenges with hope. Thankful every day that God decided to claim me as His own, and I accepted His invitation so many years ago.
Blessings!
I couldn’t agree with you more, Martha. Every day I’m blessed by the wisdom and encouragement of God’s Word!
Nancy, I had to laugh at this. Years ago, my husband observed our daughter’s tendency to argue with us and respond to every point we made with “Yabut.” He would tell her, “You have a bad case of the yabuts today.” 😉 You’re right, when it comes to the Lord, we need to keep our yabuts to ourselves and just trust His Word!
Did that daughter become a lawyer, Annie?! That’s one way a “talent” for arguing can be put to good use! 😄
No, but she’s married to one. I doubt he wins many arguments … 😉
Now I’M laughing, Annie!!
Oh, I LOVE this post, Nancy!
A few months ago I had to get up early one morning and drive myself a distance of sixty miles on a busy interstate highway to the dentist’s office, to have oral surgery done. I was scared of the heavy traffic, having witnessed too many accidents in my life, scared of the 75 mph speed limit, scared of the dentist, and scared of the anesthesia that I knew I would be given, because I have literally almost died due to an anaphylactic allergic reaction to an anesthesia drug in the past. Although they won’t give me that particular drug again, still, I was worried — what if I have an allergic reaction to the drug they are giving me today?
As I started on my drive to the dentist, I prayed for God’s protection and peace, and then I began quoting Psalm 23. I said just the first verse: “The Lord is my Shepherd…”
Suddenly, I realized how AMAZING that is! The Lord — Almighty God, the Creator of the entire Universe, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords — is — my — SHEPHERD?! Wow wow WOW!!!!!!!!
All the way to the dentist, and while I was sitting in the dentist’s chair — as the anesthetic injection was given — and throughout the surgical procedure — the entire time, I kept thinking, over and over and over again: “The Lord — is — my — Shepherd! The Lord — is — my — Shepherd! WOW! The Lord — is — my — Shepherd!”
God is So Good. ❤
AMEN to that, Linda! I love it when one little phrase, even one WORD can grab our attention, as you’ve described here. Hallelujah for the miraculous way God can use scripture to minister just what we need, exactly when we need it! Thank you so much for sharing this story, my friend!
Hi Nancy,
Ah, those darn Yabbits!!! I think you’ve outdone yourself on this blog. So many neat posts. I loved the Lincoln and Patrick Henry post. Issiah55:9 really explains our dilemma. I thought Deut. 29:29 also feeds that idea.
Lincoln was such a wonderful man who overcame so much. He used the Bible a lot as something to read. Well, my Yabbits are usually in one area and fit in to my yabbuts quite nicely.
Thanks again Nancy for such a wonderful blog.
Sam
You’re welcome, Sam. Out of the passages mentioned in this post, it’s Habakkuk 3:17-18 that deters the yabbits in my life. Another one that I didn’t include: Romans 11:33-36. Thank you so much for your encouragement, Sam!
Thanks Nancy, those verses in Romans 11:33-36 sue are powerful. Here is to keeping our yabbits away.
Oh, and the rabbits that ate all my lillies after they flowered. Yep, all 12 12 flowers gone all the way down to the soil. 60.00 dollars. I went out and purchased space age sling shot. My neighbor wanted me to kill them all. Well, I went to the flower bed and chickend out . Got my money back for the slingshot. Sam
As annoying as rabbits are, I couldn’t shoot one either!
Thanks, Nancy, for your response with Romans 11:33-36. That was a really wonderful Yabbit killer! 🙂
Rabbits on the other hand can really be annoying. My neighbor wished I would kill them all as they were driving her nuts and me too. I went out and purchased a really space-age sling shot. Well, not a hair on a rabbit was hurt. I am a really great shot, but I took the sling shot back to the store and got my money back.
Sam
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
That’s a good one, Ruth! We can’t see the big picture as God can; our best response is trusting in him. Thank you for the reminder!
Love this, Nancy. Read this with the family tonight!
I’m honored you found the post worthy to share, Mary. Praise God for his inspiration!
Yabbits…I would love it but I do it…It’s a good one to remember Nancy
Thank you, Gary. Yes, I have to deal with yabbits too every now and then! They’re like rabbits in that regard also. They dig under the fence every chance they get!
This is a great post and one I will remember. Rabbits destroyed by pepper plants this year. ugh. love this image and that quote by Rev Deems is a keeper too.
I’m so sorry the rabbits found your pepper plants! I’ve read that sprinkling red pepper around plants is a deterrent, but have never tried it. / Isn’t that Deems quote insightful? How mixed up we can sometimes be, believing our doubts and doubting our scripture-based beliefs!
Nancy,
An inspiration! Loved it! Thank you. Love and prayers to you and Steve
Praise God you found inspiration here, Janet! And thank you so much for your prayers. We’re doing well, in spite of spells of isolation when Covid infections rise to high levels. You probably have to do the same!
Nancy,
I love the reminder on how to keep God’s word in the forefront especially when life comes at me hard sometimes.
Anita
I am so sorry that life has sometimes come at you hard, Anita. You HAVE experienced more than your share of trouble! That’s why your strong faith and positive attitude shine so brightly. You’ve been an example to me, and I know you’ve ministered to MANY others over the years! No doubt you continue to do so in your new location.
My favorites are Eph 3:20, Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Romans15:13 “ I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. “
Psalm 91:14-15 The lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protection those who trust in my name.” Psalms 91:15 “When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.” These have helped me through some really difficult times!
Thank you, Lisa, for adding these wonderfully uplifting passages to the conversation! You HAVE been through some really difficult times, I can attest to that. But your faith never wavered! It wasn’t that you didn’t feel the emotional pain, but you clung to your hope in Jesus. Like Anita above, you’ve been an example to me, and I know you’ve ministered to MANY others over the years! God bless you, my friend!
Great reminders of the importance of God’s Word. And while devotion books with a short scripture for the day can be helpful, you are right we must take time for serious reading and study.
That’s the hard part, isn’t it–taking the time. But once we get started, that part of the day becomes precious indeed. Thank you for stopping by, Barb!
This post is so chock full of truth and encouragement that I need to save it and read it over and over. I love every bit of it! The yabbits in my life are so persistent and annoying. A part of a verse that I am claiming more and more is in I Timothy 4:10: “…we have fixed our hope on the living God.” When situations seem hopeless…and do they ever in our world today!…then I remember this verse. My sure hope is in God alone, thankfully, and with that assurance I can keep going. Thank you Nancy, always, for a very encouraging word today! Blessings!
That IS another great scripture to keep in mind. When our hope is fixed on our living God, we CAN press on until he calls us home–hallelujah! Praise God you found encouragement here, Patty. That warms my heart!
when i think of all the ‘buts’ we entertain in our lives, I begin to realize that what follows are usually excuses, blaming, and a refusal to own our own decisions.
all so tiresome and hardly Christ-honoring.
you’re an eye-opener, friend. i hope your weekend is splendid …
Your comment has me thinking, Linda: Rabbits may be cute, but there is nothing cute about yabbits. All the more reason to get ride of them ASAP!
Nancy, what a cute way of putting those “yeah, buts.” Yabbits are joy stealers sent to shrink our faith and magnify our doubts and troubles. May we build stronger fences to keep those pesky yabbits out! 🙌🏼
You make an excellent point, Renee: “Yabbits are joy stealers.” That’s another good reason we should want to get rid of them ASAP! Indeed, let’s build stronger fences!
And we shall! 💕🙌🏼
Nancy, nothing beats an analogy painted by a single word. This post is brilliant. Why do those yabbits have to be so rascally? Just when I think I have them beat, they find a hole in the fence and hop right through. Thank goodness the Holy Spirit is a vigilant watchman pointing out their presence before they do too much damage.
Excellent point, Beth. I’m so thankful the Spirit helps us at our points of weakness (Romans 8:26)!
I love this post. I believe doubt is a sin. It was self-doubt that displaced Adam and Eve from the garden. The devil offered them what God has already given to them. God created man in His image, the devil told them that they would look like God when they eat the forbidden fruit. They doubted God and themselves and brought sin upon humanity. A miracle cannot happen without our faith in place – Heb.11:6
Yes, doubt can lead to disobedience, as it did for Adam and Eve. But if we bring our doubts to God and genuinely seek answers for them, that leads to growth. As for the father with the son possessed by an evil spirt, mentioned in Mark 9, perhaps his doubt centered not on whether Jesus could perform such a wonder, but on whether he deserved such a miracle.
“Yabbit” had me thinking of Elmer Fudd and his funny way of talking back in the Looney Tunes days, but of course your message is so much more meaningful than anything Elmer had to say. Never saw your “yeah but” analogy coming even though it was right there in front of me! It seems so human to condition our comments with a “but”. We start our sentences with conviction (ex. “I’m sure this would’ve been a good idea…”) but the “but” that inevitably follows waters down what we really mean to tsay. Remove the “but” and insert faith and the outcome is wholly satisfying, even if so difficult to do. Love this post, Nancy!
Oh yes–the famous “Kill the Wabbit” parody on the Wagner operatic piece! I can hear it in my head too! I love your suggestion of removing the “but” and inserting faith. With practice, we can surely make progress toward a yard without yabbits!
Yabbits don’t eat your hostas or marigolds. On the other hand, they do eat your faith (and they’re a lot less cute than rabbits). Good point, Nancy!
Thank you, Mitch! And you are so right, there’s nothing cute about yabbits. So why do we let them hang around?!
Nancy, you laid out this post brilliantly! The title alone is clever and eye-catching! The post itself has so much meat (like a meat-lover’s pizza) that I have already taken it to heart. I’m ashamed to admit that sometimes I have allowed the Yabbits to wreak havoc on my faith. I don’t have problems believing in His promises; it’s just that I get impatient to see them come to fruition, which leads to disappointment and distress. Thanks for this wonderful post. (I clicked on the link found in your Notes #4 and will be sharing some of those encouraging quotations on my timeline. I particularly love that some of our Presidents were Bible believers. Considering our present circumstances it is refreshing reading.)
Thank you, Cheri. You are right about the waiting–it can get mighty uncomfortable! I suppose we could look at wait time as bake time! Just as we have to wait for a cake to bake in order to enjoy the best it has to offer, we have to bide our time for circumstances to bake in God’s oven (!), in order to enjoy the best HE has to offer. The wait will be worth it! (Please remind me of this when impatience comes to call in MY spirit!)
Amen! Nancy, your title encouraged my curiosity to read more. This discussion is a blessing, filled with the sustaining Word.
Thank you, Richard! So glad you found blessing here. Praise God!
Hi Nancy,
I do believe, Lord help my unbelief. These days are discouraging and sometimes beat us up. The Bible is the gold standard of life on the page. Have to felt the heat of these days crank up?
In Christ,
Gary
You’re right, Gary: our confidence and contentment can slip a bit as we watch the news and see what’s happening in our communities. Praise God for his Word, the gold standard of life, for sure. Within its pages we find the comfort and strength we need for times like these!
May we never feel alone and facing trouble alone.
Amen!!! What a great post Nancy!! Love this clever analogy.
I always feel like God teaches me so much through your posts but this one surpasses them all!!! Really spoke to my heart!!
Holding tightly to Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Praise God for the way he used this post to speak to your heart, Alicia. Hallelujah! And what great verses you’ve chosen to hold tightly to. If I recall correctly, you’ve written (over at your blog) about experiences that prove this promise. I’m praising God for that too!