Rejoice in the LORD, Always!
"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." (Habakkuk 3:17-18; English Standard Version).
Today we're concluding our survey of the book of Habakkuk. I have suggested that the overall theme of the book is that God is always at work even though we don't see it, and even though we don't completely understand it. The key verse in whole book is Habakkuk 2:4 ("But the righteous shall live by his faith."). The Prophet concludes his book with this statement of praise to God. This passage basically has one point: Rejoice, no matter what. It all comes down to this.
1. Rejoice, no matter what ("Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation"). Habakkuk begins this passage with a series of conditional statements that ultimately end in the statement, "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD." Notice what the prophet says, "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." Though there be no figs, no fruit, no olives, no crop, no flocks and no herds, there is still cause to rejoice in the LORD. In other words, even if there were a total and complete economic collapse, there would still be a reason to rejoice in the LORD.
The Prophet understands a crucial spiritual truth: God is worthy to be worshiped for who He is, not for what He provides. Habakkuk had seen the moral collapse of his people, and he cried out to God to fix it. If God has asked, I'm pretty sure that Habakkuk would have given him advice on how to fix the problem. Yet, all throughout the book of Habakkuk, the prophet is given a tiny glimpse into the workings and plans of God; and that glimpse was enough to stop his complaining and generate praise from his heart.
Application Time. We all go through many trials, and we all want God to fix our problems. Yet God sovereignly allows these trials in our lives to build our character and strengthen our faith. We need to lose the notion that God is expected to work on our timetable and according to our wants and desires. Christians should never expect their lives to be easy. The only difference between Christians and non-Christians is that we have a hope they don't possess. That hope is the fact that God is working in our lives for His glory and our good. God gets the glory when we face the same trials as non-Christians with a hope and a joy that they don't have. The Apostle Peter exhorts us to be ready to have an answer for the hope that we possess (cf. 1 Peter 3:15). No matter what you're facing, no matter what you're going through, take joy in the God of your salvation!
Bottom Line. In the midst of his testing, Job said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). God is praiseworthy for who He is! God has already done for us more than we deserve by granting us eternal salvation through Jesus Christ His Son. Do not fall into the trap of basing your praise and worship of God on the material blessings you graciously receive from His hand. "I will take joy in the God of my salvation."