I heard and my heart pounded
My lips quivered at the sound;
Decay crept into my bones,
And my legs trembled
Yes, I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
To come on the nation invading us.
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
The Sovereign Lord is my strength
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:16-19
I’ve been thinking about these verses lately, especially the ones in blue. Often I see life as a set of circumstances. The quality of each day is determined by how things went. When I wake up from a good night of sleep to a fresh pot of coffee and banana pancakes for breakfast, it’s a good morning. But when I tossed and turned all night, the coffee is all out, and someone ate the last of the fruit loops, it’s quickly becoming a crappy day.
Think about how often you get asked the questionhow are you? or how was your day? Now think about how you would answer that question. I know for me that the answer is based off of circumstances. If things went good-meaning that I accomplished what I had hoped without any unforeseen troubles getting in the way-then I answer, great! On the other hand, when I couldn’t go running because it rained, and my car got a flat tire, and I was late for an appointment because the guy in front of me didn’t know how to drive, then my answer to the question becomes negative-i.e., crappy, frustrating, bad, etc.
But that wasn’t true for Habakkuk. The whole book of Habakkuk, though short, makes a good point. Habakkuk is frustrated with God. He is crying out to the Lord, frustrated. He doesn’t understand why God is allowing wickedness and strife to run rampant in Judah. Now who hasn’t been here before? I think there have been times in all of our lives that we question why things are the way they are. We wonder why God is allowing evil to triumph instead of fighting for justice-our justice!
And my prayer is that we can all get to the same place as Habakkuk. My prayer is that we would come to a place of faith and trust in God, despite whatever circumstances we might find ourselves in at the moment. My prayer is that we might be able to cry out to God as Habakkuk did in verses 17-18 (the blue part).
What would these verses look like if they were written by you? My challenge is that you would search your heart and see where you need to trust God despite the circumstances.
Though people have failed me all of my life,
and have never proven trustworthy
Though I have no idea where or to what God is calling me,
and how I’m supposed to get there
Though sometimes I feel alone
and must walk alone in the dark,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Amen.
