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.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19, NIV)
“… There’s a great difference between happiness and
joy,” writes John Ogilvie.
“Happiness is
dependent on having no problems or concerns; joy is having faith in God in spite of anything.
“Habakkuk had been
through a profound experience with God. He dared to question honestly what God
was doing with His people and why He was allowing the growing strength of the
Chaldean enemy. Then the prophet was silent. The Lord gave him the benchmark truth that the just shall live by faith in Him alone. There would
be trouble ahead as God judged the apostasy of His people with an enemy
invasion, but Habakkuk would trust in Him.
“The prophet of faith heaps up all that will happen and in spite of it all, leaps for joy. Habakkuk shifts his faith from trust in
circumstances to trust in God. It is then that he can say the Lord is his
strength. His heart not only pirouettes in joy, but is also given strength in
weakness, light-footed security like the deer, and elevated vision for the
future.” (Lloyd John Ogilvie, Silent
Strength for My Life)
Beside this passage in my Bible, I’ve
written, “A joyous commitment of faith”
and “a song of confident joy.”
Look back on your life. Write a story
about a time trouble loomed in a messy situation while
God took care of ugliness and ungodliness—a time when, like Habakkuk, you faced it, knowing you could trust God.
How did God teach you the difference
between happiness and joy?
Explain how God taught you His “benchmark truth that the just shall live by faith
in Him alone.”
Paraphrase Habakkuk 3:17-19 for your
own story. Like Habakkuk, heap up all that could have happened. List all the
reasons you—or any human—could have despaired, phrase by phrase: “Though the _____
does not ___ and there are no _______,
though the _______ fails and the _____ produce no _______, though there are no ________
and no _______.…"
Then write your own song of confident joy. Declare, “And yet, I chose to rejoice in
the Lord and be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord was my
strength; he made my feet like the feet of a deer, he enabled me to go on the
heights” (Habakkuk 3:17-19, NIV).
Write about trusting not in your circumstances but in
God.
Write about discovering, in the words
of Ogilvie, the strength God gave in the
midst of your weakness, a light-footed security,
and an elevated vision for the future.
Write your story. You
probably can’t imagine how it will help others.
The other day, Sharon Lippincott wrote
of the way our stories spread ripples.
“When I read a story that changed the
author’s life,” she writes, “by the time
I close the covers, I’ve experienced some changes myself. I learn and grow
right along with that author.”
Yes! That’s it! That’s why we write our
stories!
