“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation”. Habakkuk 3:17,18
Life is never a straight horizontal line from birth to death; its path is filled with twist and turns, challenges, and events that rock the very foundation of our belief system. Each morning we turn our Television or we browse the Internet, we get often bombarded with news of wars, negative economic predictions, violence, terrorism, and outbreak of new epidemic. The question that looms the heart of most Christians is “How do I stay happy in an unhappy world?”
God, through His Prophet, Habakkuk gave us light in a dark tunnel of life. If there is any prophet that knew what it feels to experience a down trend of event, an economic meltdown, it was Habakkuk. He lived and prophesied during the reign of King Manasseh when wickedness prevailed, and the destruction of Judea was hastened by the Chaldeans, yet in all these, he said “I will rejoice in the Lord.”
Isn’t that amazing?
In our scripture, Habakkuk metaphorically used series of agricultural terms to represent how sorry the state of Judea was at that time. The fig tree known for producing a rich sweet fruit and a sign of the approach of summer could not blossom, the vine known for its sweetness had no wine, there were no olives from the olive trees, and no meat from the field.
What I learned from Habakkuk is that no matter how bad things are, I ought to rejoice in the Lord always. When it is convenient and when it is not. Probably, you have just lost your job, you are having financial problem or you having a hard time dealing with you teenage child. What you may be going through God is saying to you “Rejoice in the Lord”.
Someone might be asking: Why should I rejoice when I don’t have a reason to actually rejoice?
I will like to share with you three reason why you should rejoice always:
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” Psalm 5:11 1. We rejoice always because we trust in God: Our attitude best reveals how much we trust in Him, when things don’t go as plan, we should lean in the knowledge that God knows best, and has the best for us. The Bible said “All things works together for good to them that love God”.
2. We rejoice always because God defends us: Proverbs 30:5 teaches us that God is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Coming to a full understanding that the same God that created the universe is for you and not against you, and that He is your defender, should breed joy in your heart no matter what you are going through.
3. We rejoice always because we love God: Love is patient. The Bible in Basic English rendition of 1Corinthians 13:4 said that “Love is never tired of waiting…” From verse 7 we can also read that “Love has the power of undergoing all things, having faith in all things, hoping all things.”
It is love for God that should give us faith and hope… It is love for God that should inspire us to worship Him and give Him praise no matter what!
By Sam Ubani
teachmekindness.com 