“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread the high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” Habakkuk 3:17-19
These are the last words of the prophecy of Habakkuk. In the short book of Habakkuk, we see Habakkuk’s complaints and God’s responses. The people have forsaken God’s covenant. God will send the Babylonians. The Babylonians are evil. God’s answer is they will too be judged. And in the midst of this complaint and answer dialogue we read of the righteous who will live by faith. And by the end of the book we read of a great trust in the Lord no matter the circumstances.
There are those who go hungry in our country today, but most have an abundance of food that is shown by our waistlines. We have not just enough but many times we have more than enough. In some ways we have taken the basics necessities of life; food, clothing, shelter—and have increased that list exponentially to include things like the internet or cell phones, entertainment, health care, and education just to name a few. Habakkuk here speaks of God’s provision of food. Even if there is no fruit of the fig tree, even if there are no olives, the fields produce no food, and there are no flocks to provide for our needs, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will still take joy in the God of my salvation.
As we sit down and give thanks tomorrow, let us not forget to give thanks for more than the food. More than the family and friends we have been blessed with, let us also remember those other blessings that are not necessities. And yes, you can refer to the above list. Many times, we take those things for granted as well.
But most of all let us rejoice in the Lord for He is our God. Let us take joy in the God of our salvation. He is our strength and He is the one who makes our feet like the deer’s and makes us tread the high places. Rise up and walk in the strength of the Lord. He will see you through and don’t forget to rejoice!
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