The last chapter in the book of Habakkuk has these beautiful lines, that say --
Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
One day as I was reading these lines, a thought crossed my mind. We must REALLY trust the Lord, to be able to say what the prophet had just said. And I have no doubt that he really meant what he's written here.
"Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vine. Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food.Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls" The prophet literally means, that even though there be no food to eat, and ALL our labor goes in VAIN... We will still bless the Lord!
It has a resemblance to the sentiment of Job presented earlier in the Bible, when Job said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." [Job1:21]
To be able to bless the name of God, and to laugh in the face of adversity, requires pure and simple - T-R-U-S-T.
How difficult would it be, to wake up one morning,and realize, that all our labor has been destroyed the previous night, while we were sleeping, and then say, "Praise the Lord"!!! Oh, but its that kind of reckless faith, that God wants! He expects it.
I've just been going through a rather rough patch, and I've been talking to God. Spent sometime simply crying, saying, "Lord why? Why does it have to be so difficult?" But then I'm reminded of one saying, "If God NEVER again does ANYTHING for you, in your WHOLE life.. You still have reason enough to praise Him. Because He's saved you from an eternity of misery."
The last three lines make sense in the face of troubles and trials. Let us read them again -
"The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills."
God doesn't promise to remove the problems...! He simply promises to be our strength when we're in trouble. The LORD God is my ''strength''.
God doesn't promise to make the roads flat and easy to walk on. He simply promises to give us the kind of feet we require to scale those steep roads. He's making our feet like hind's feet, and setting them on our high places. He doesn't want to make scardey-cats out of us, He's making warriors out of us. He doesn't always remove our problems, though He can! He is well able to deliver us, but even if He doesn't....its ok. We will still not bow down before our troubles, but will magnify the name of our God. [Daniel 3:17-18]
I know the road is rocky at times, just wanted to remind you.. Stick on. God is able to deliver, and He will. In His time, He will hasten it, He's promised that.
