One day as I was pondering Habakkuk 3:17 it struck me that the writer did not say, “Until the fig tree blossoms…I will rejoice in you.” He said, “Although the fig tree doesn’t blossom…I will rejoice in you.” The joy we find in God is not contingent on things getting better.
Writing this causes me to tremble within, because humanly we want so badly for God to fix things. Just this morning I was talking to my sister about how people are so often disappointed with God, because they were taught that if they would just turn their life over to God, He would fix things for them. In our own human wisdom we tend to think, if God is all-powerful, then He is capable of fixing my problems, and if He is loving, then He will choose to fix my problems. When things don’t get better, we wonder what part of our equation isn’t working, and often end up disappointed with God.
I am thoroughly convinced that God loves us, and that He is all powerful. Neither of those truths can be questioned if one accepts the Bible as God’s Word. So that leaves me with the question, “Why then, when I trust Him, do some things get worse? Why is life still so hard?
God has taught me many, many facets to the answer to this question. Still I can’t even begin to understand the whole picture. What I do know, is that my worship of God brings the only true catharsis to my wounded soul. When I worship Him because He is worthy, in the middle of a painful situation, I find new capacity for trusting Him, even if nothing in my circumstances changes.
This is my modern rendition of Habakkuk 3:17-19
“Even if my salary runs out, and I don’t make enough to cover expenses, all my resources dry up, and I wonder where my next meal is coming from; even if my livelihood falls apart, and no one is around to help me, even then I will sing and dance before God. I will find great joy in Him because He has provided eternal salvation for me. When everything in life goes wrong, I will find strength in Him. He will provide for me in His good way. He will teach me new things in this valley of desolation, and make me walk within the light of His promises.”
joyinthemourning 