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. The sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
There are certainly times when thanking God is not the first thought coming to my mind. When my annoyances are small, I just fume or try to move on to something else. When they are larger, I often ask God for help to feel better or to move through my situation. But I rarely thank God when I am upset or unhappy. I know Pastor Gil has talked about this a number of times; adversity can help us to grow in God. Job understood this. I hear it, and I agree it makes sense, but I am not sure I have lived it. My trials have been small ones. Even for small trials I find it hard to give thanks. What would happen to me if I had a larger trial to face? Could I thank God?
Father God, you have blessed me with a wonderful family, friends, and life itself. May I be thankful for everything, every moment, all of the time. Amen
Becky, transforming
Tom, thank you for this piece. It is a really good article and helps a lot.
This is for Barbara who wrote about the difficulty at times in feeling God’s presence. Obviously, it may be an encouragement to other as well. I recommend reading this: https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?e=4b7e2424cc&u=45b75085e6ab57e339ea89d67&id=5b0c763e0e TAA
20201119 Thursday, Daily Devotion - Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV)
17 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,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuk’s enjoyment is different from the enjoyment of many other people. Most of us are familiar with enjoying blossom, fruits on the vines, plenty of delicious food, and animals. However,…
Habakkuk 3: 17-19
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.
I have to work on trusting God more. I guess my faith needs to grow. I do question God when bad things happen. Sometimes I just cannot feel God’s presence. I do my best to cling to my faith, but I do question God. I find that when this happens, I feel guilty and have to remind myself that He is a God of justice and mercy and that I have to live by faith. I really have to work on saying, I will rejoice in the Lord and not question him.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 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 on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments How does my faith measure up like it did for Habakkuk. When I am in difficult situations, would I remember that God is my strength. Would I choose to rejoice in the Lord. Does God…