I Will Be Joyful In God My Savior

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet 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 tread on the heights.

For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:16-19

What do we do when the medical prognosis is devastating, when our circumstances are beyond our control? Where do we turn when the outlook seems hopeless?

The prophet Habakkuk’s situation was out of his control, and the fear that he felt terrified him. The coming judgment would be catastrophic.

Yet, in the midst of the impending chaos, Habakkuk made a choice to live by his faith, and rejoice in God. He did not place his confidence and faith in his circumstances, ability, or resources, but in the goodness and greatness of God. His trust in God compelled him to proclaim: “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

When we are faced with difficult circumstances – sickness, family crisis, financial trouble – we, too, have only to place our faith in God. He is with us in everything we face.

When faced with difficult circumstances we can trust God to be our strength.

Our Daily Bread – August 13, 2017