Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
Observation
Habakkuk was a prophet during the rise of Babylon as a world power, a contemporary of the prophets Nahum and Jeremiah. Habakkuk lifts up a lament, conducting a dialogue with God regarding injustice and how God was not living up to expectations based on their interpretation of His promises and their human understanding of God’s nature. Habakkuk was crying out, “God, what are You thinking?! How long will You tolerate injustice, allowing evil to triumph and the innocent to be oppressed? I thought You were a good God, a God of justice. I don’t understand!! Why don’t You do something about it NOW??” Haven’t we all asked these questions at some time or other?
King David frequently lamented about God’s seeming hesitance to step in to turn the world right side up, making things right and just (from his perspective – see Psalms). Nonetheless, David after venting always returned to “but yet I will praise” in the end. This passage above is the final word from Habakkuk – regardless of what I don’t understand, or what I experience, or what I may face, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” We may not understand how current events fit into God’s plan – why the suffering, why the injustice, why evil seems to triumph – but like David and Habakkuk, we can have confidence in God’s wisdom, power, justice, timing and ultimate plan for redeeming humankind.
Impact on Me
I confess that I have lamented before God – so confused about why I was where I was experiencing circumstances that were not fair, just, blessed or earned – from my perspective at least. I want to understand the WHY, be able to reason out the purpose, see the light at the end of the tunnel and be able to discern how God is planning to turn around for good what is meant for evil. Then, I remember the Cross. If I had been standing with the disciples watching Jesus die a public, shameful, unimaginable death, would I have despaired? Would I have questioned if He was Messiah? Would I have lamented before God over my expectations that He was not meeting?
The Cross is the pivot point of history, the event that provided us a choice and changed eternity for us all. If I was there, I am sure I would have cried out for another way because the Cross would seem so unjust a punishment for an innocent victim. And yet, where would I be without that sacrifice. The Cross reminds me to trust in God to deliver ultimate justice in His time and His way. The Babylonian Empire was eventually overthrown by another empire builder who was subsequently overthrown by another. The only kingdom that will last forever is the Kingdom of God.
Ultimately, I want to be like David and Habakkuk. After my whining, complaining, discouraging prayer/dialogue, I want to remember to rejoice in the fact that:
- Because God has proven over and over that He is good, He is just, and His timing is perfect, I can set aside my angst and trust in Him during desperate times;
- God even gives me the privilege of listening to me – much less the beautiful free gift of salvation and adoption as His child;
- I have hindsight on the Cross the disciples did not have because of Jesus’ resurrection, so things are not always as bad as they look – be on the lookout for opportunities to represent Him in all circumstances;
- I have His Word to keep in my heart to sustain and remind me that I am not alone and not rejected because of my human response to what happens in this world; and
- In Christ, I have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to give me strength to endure all that comes and the wisdom to trust in God regardless of circumstances.
“The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”
Prayer
Lord God, Creator, Redeemer, All-Just, King of all kings, I praise You and rejoice in Your justice, mercy and grace. Help me to let go of my need to understand, my desire to control/fix what is not mine to fix and trust in You and Your plan even when circumstances endeavor to discourage and cause doubt. May I humbly walk in the footsteps You place before me to be what You need me to be and do what You need me to do in the moment You need me to do so. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 
Oh how this is where I am with the escalating brutality in Ukraine. It is so violent and I cry out No No No Father. Stop this violence and hate. Why why such extreme attacks. I pray for it to stop and a new peace come, the peace that is only there when You fill and flow through repentant hearts.
LikeLike