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.” Today's episode is about how we can take scritpture and make it more personal to us. We can add our names into it, or we can add our circumstances to it. It can help you relate to it more when feel a connection to it. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Making Scripture Personal
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.”
Have you ever personalized scripture before? Have you ever replaced the word Israelites for your name? Have you ever just inserted your name into scripture to make it more personal to you? What do you think about this idea? If you haven’t done it before, why haven’t you? Is it because you never thought of it before? Is it because you think it is wrong to add your name to the holy scriptures? Is it because you can’t see how the Bible and the scriptures apply to you in your life? Take a moment and really think about this idea of personalizing scripture. I will be honest with you, I haven’t done it a lot. I have heard of this idea before and I though it sounded like an awesome idea, and then I just never really did anything with it.
When I was reading a book titled Built Through Courage by Dave Hollis, the author talked about something I think can really help us not to worry so much. Dave talked about his mentors and how they had tragedy hit and he said they relied on a specific scripture verse to get them through it. He said they took a scripture verse and personalized it to their specific circumstances. That scripture verse is 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 who 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 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 they needed. I know 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 He will save us this time. If this is what you are thinking, rest assured whatever God has done for those who have come before us, He will do for 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 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 we are able to come to grips with our situation. We acknowledge 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 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?
What is it 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. Here is an example of how I rewrote this verse to fit my particular circumstances at one point in my life:
Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Though my marriage is falling apart and there doesn’t seem to be a way we can stay together, though the children are really struggling at school and at home, though our home is filled with anger and violence, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Personalizing scripture can not only help you get through a difficult time, it can help you grow in your faith. The Bible is not just a collection of words or a collection of stories that are nice to read. The Bible is one of God’s ways of communicating with us. Using the Bible God is teaching us how to act, how to interact with each other, what to do, and what not to do. He is also teaching us about Him and His ways. He is teaching us about His love and His forgiveness. He is communicating with us and if we can make that communication more personal then we will connect to it more. When you were in school did you pay more attention when the teacher was talking to the whole class, or when she was talking to you individually? What about at a work meeting? Would you pay more attention if your boss said your name before he started talking, or if he was addressing the whole audience? I think we can all agree that we would pay more attention if someone was talking to us directly. It is the same with the Bible. If you put your name into the Bible verse you will pay more attention because it will feel as though that verse was written directly for you.
There are many ways you can personalize scripture. Rick Warren, author of A Purpose Driven Life, suggests that we can replace any pronouns or nouns in scripture with our name. For example, if he were personalizing John 3:16, He'd write something like this: 'For God so loved Rick, he gave his one and only Son so that Rick would not perish but have everlasting life.” Or, "Or, for Philippians 1:6: 'He who began a good work in Rick Warren will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’" Warren went on to note that if one uses the "personalize-it method," the results will "strengthen your faith and encourage yourself. Do this, and many passages of Scripture will literally bring tears to your eyes. You'll start to read the Bible as God's love letter to you," continued Warren.
There are articles out there that can give you more examples of how to do this. I just wanted to introduce you to the idea today. If you think it sounds like something you would like to try I say you just go for it. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Take a scripture verse and see how it can apply to your exact circumstances. Instead of reading the Bible as if it is a collection of stories completely unrelated to your life, start reading it as if God is talking to you, right where you are, in the circumstances that you are in. I bet the Bible will come to life in a whole new way. Give it a try, if you don’t like it, no worries. However, what if you do try it and it is life-changing? Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing and we are so grateful for all you do for us. Lord, I ask you to increase our desire to read the Word of God. Help us to read Your Word and see ourselves and our situations in what we read. Don’t just let it be words to us, help it take root in our hearts. We ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I pray you will take some time the next time you read your Bible and try adding your name in, or personalizing the scripture in some way. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow with another witness. Wednesday. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the favor and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Every single time you come to me in prayer. I kindle that fire. I feed it with new fuel. I make it burn bigger and brighter. That fire is my Holy Spirit, which I share with you.”