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.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
“And you, what of news from home?” Bob, the Australian, questioned me after hearing about the Race. “It sounds like the people are shutting down the government.”
I’m sure my eyes got rather large as my heart did a little leap in my chest. Our brief Internet stints are enough to post a blog, read a few emails and make sure everything is fine with our loved ones – that home. Regrettably, I’m oblivious to most U.S. news (which includes not knowing the latest on Angelina Jolie, pardon the sarcasm).
When I caught a glimpse of CNN the next day, my heart did another little flip. What was I to come home to? What state would our nation be in – the nation that I love and that I grow increasingly thankful for each day?
And then there was God’s still small voice in calming strength.
Look to Me, Ginger. Not to CNN or anyone else to give you peace and hope.
If the land is barren and there is no food, if there are no cattle in the stalls – yet I will praise my God. When circumstances are dire, will I choose to praise God? Will I stand upon Christ as my foundation when the world seems to be falling apart?
Cambodian landscape.
Are we a people who can honestly say “In God we trust”?
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalms 146:3). God is bigger than any government, army or economy.
Cambodia is a nation that seems to have fallen apart. I don’t know how people make a life in this heat box. Amid the palm trees, there are few cattle spotted on the plains – skinny and sickly. Beggars are upon nearly every street corner, their eyes full of need and their hearts are distant. Emotion is clipped out of facial expressions and conversations. Circumstances and possessions bring no lasting joy.
I’d like to think that if I were in the same conditions, I would praise God like Habakkuk. But I don’t think I’m there yet. I want to have that kind of faith, though.
Christ will strengthen us. Despite corruption, crime, poverty, slimmer wallets, poor job markets, and all else – He is with us. He doesn’t promise cheesecake and fine dining, but He promises Himself – and He is enough to give us strength to endure.
I love how Habbakuk ends…
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights. (v. 19)
