Habakkuk 3:17-19 "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.” This episode is exploring what it means to rejoice in the Lord, It also gives you a great tip of what you can do in a really difficult time. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
I Will Be Joyful In God My Savior
Habakkuk 3:17-19 "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.”
There is a lot going wrong for the people in this verse. The things mentioned here are not small things. It might not seem like a big deal to us, as how many of us eat figs anyway? However, it was a bid deal at the time. The people that wrote this depended on those crops not just for food, but also for their lively hood. If they did not have figs, grapes or olives, what would they sell at the market to get the other things they needed. The verse says the fields produced no food. What could they eat, if they had not fruits or vegetables? Normally I would say at least they have animals to eat. However, the verse also says, no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.
I can’t even imagine what I would do if I were in their circumstances. This verse is basically saying that they had nothing. They had no food, they had no animals, and if they didn’t have any of that, then they didn’t have anything to trade with to get the other things that they needed. I know that we often think our situation can’t really get any worse, however, for these guys I would say that it really couldn’t get much worse. How did they react to these dire circumstances? Did they yell and scream at God? Did they question Him and ask Him how dare He take it all away? Did they turn away from God? No, they didn’t do any of those things. In that very same sentence, they said “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Wow, that is incredible. Don’t you wish you had their strength? Don’t you wish you felt the same way on your worst days? I will rejoice in the Lord. Not, I will trust the Lord, not I will be ok with the Lord, I will rejoice in the Lord. What did they have to rejoice about? Then it goes on to say I will be joyful in God my Savior. I was about to ask you what they had to be joyful about, and then the words “in God my Savior” rattled around in my head. They weren’t joyful because of their circumstances, they were joyful because of God their Savior. They knew God was going to save them. They didn’t know when and they didn’t know how, but they relied on the fact that God was their savior and if He saved them before, He would do it again.
Why is it so hard for us to remember this? What came to mind was, maybe we haven’t seen Him save us before. What if we have never needed saving before and so we don’t know that He will save us this time. If this is what you are thinking, rest assured that whatever God has done to those that have come before us, He will do to us. If He has saved His people in the Bible, then He will save us. Those are our people. Remember Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Because Jesus saved His people in the Bible over and over again, we know He will save us. We also know that because of His promise in Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God will use all things for our good. The problem is, we don’t want to wait for it. We want things to happen when we are ready, or when we think we are ready. When are we going to come around to the fact that God’s timing is perfect? If things are going wrong for us, God’s got a plan. He might not have planned for you to get yourself into this trouble, but as soon as He saw you headed there He came up with a plan to fix it. That is what He does. We mess up and He fixes it. I truly hope He doesn’t get tired of doing that. We would be lost without Him.
Let’s say that we are able to come to grips with our situation. We acknowledge that God is doing His thing and although we don’t know how it will work out, we know it will work out. Then what do we do? We still need to figure out a way to lesson our pain so we can live to make it through to the other side. The people in this verse decided that although these terrible things were happening they were going to rejoice in the Lord. Do you think you could persevere in this difficult time? Do you think you could not only keep hope in the Lord, but to rejoice in the Lord?
I am currently reading a new book titled Built Through Courage by Dave Hollis. In this book Dave talked about something that I thought was a really cool idea to help us get through some really difficult times. I know some of you are either really struggling, or you have loved ones that are. Dave was talking about how he and Rachel, his wife at the time, had a couple that mentored them in the beginning of their relationship. This couple had a very strong faith. The wife in this couple had a massive stroke after just having a baby. She survived it but was now confined to a wheel chair. Dave asked her how they could still have so much faith after something so tragic happened. They said they relied on a scripture verse. That scripture verse is the same as today’s verse Habakkuk 3:17-19. This woman, who was now struggling with so much, took this verse and made it her own. Here is what her version of the verse said:
“Though I cannot walk and I am confined to a wheel chair. Though my face is paralyzed and I cannot smile. Though I am extremely impaired and cannot take care of my own baby boy, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my savior.”
The author of the book I am reading, Dave Hollis, had not heard this scripture before. When he head this story, he was in the middle of a divorce he did not ask for and was transitioning out of a company he ran with his ex-wife. Everything he knew to be true about his identity was changing and he didn’t know what to do about it. Dave decided to also adopt this verse and make it his own. Here is Dave’s verse:
“Though my marriage has come to an end, and my future looks different than I thought it would. Though this blank paper I have been handed to imagine what’s next fills me with equal parts fear and excitement. Though my identity both at home and at work is shifting under my feet, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my savior.”
What is it that you are going through? Whatever it is, would it help you to write your own version of this verse? Would it help you to read that verse daily to remind yourself that God is your Savior? Let’s not forget that important part of the verse. I will be joyful in God my savior. Reading this every day can give you a reminder that you are not alone and that you are not in charge of fixing everything yourself. God is your savior.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to your episode today. Lord, we thank you that we have food and the things we need to get through the day. Lord we thank you for these beautiful verses and I hope we all get to rewrite them to fit our own lives. You are our Savior Lord God please help us to remember! Lord help us to rejoice in you during the hard times. Help us lean into you and not turn away from you. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.