Habakkuk 3:16-18: Joy in All Circumstances?

The prophet Habakkuk had been given a vision that left him deeply agitated. He was so shaken by the terrifying news that God would bring the Babylonian hordes down on Judah that his body seemed to collapse. There can be no doubt that the prophet experienced real fear with pronounced physical and psychological effects.

The amazing aspect of this saying, and the fact that makes it so noteworthy, is that in spite of all the trauma, Habakkuk received the gift of joy. This was not merely resignation about things over which he had no control. The prophet wasn't saying, "Let's make the best of it; one thing is for sure: you can't fight city hall."

Instead, this text teaches us to rejoice in God even when every instinct in our bodies is crying out with grief. Though fully alarmed at the outrage that would take place, Habakkuk experienced a holy joy, a divine enabling to rejoice in the Lord.

The object of his joy was the God of his salvation. Some things are just more abiding and important than this temporal world. Sometimes it seems as if history is out of control and no one knows where it all will end. Since God is ultimately behind the course of history, he is in control and he knows where it will end.

Thus, all the symbols of prosperity (the fig tree, the vine, the olive, the fields, the flocks and the herds of cattle) could be removed, but none of these compared with the joy that came from the living God himself. Even though that joy did not in itself mitigate the depth of the physical pain felt in the body, it did transcend it in worth, reality and depth.

This text has enormous relevance for a Christian view of history and for those who are oppressed and experiencing the reality of the conqueror's or enemy's wrath.